Jojo's Bizarre Adventures: Diablo Conquest
by LeonAngelo
Summary: Welcome to a fun side story within Jojo's Bizarre Adventure universe, after the events of Morioh and the time passed in Italy. Jotaro has turned his attention to a self-segregated oppressive town known as Bodou City. Where we meet our newest Jojo and descendant of Speedwagon Johanne Kamijou who dreams of freeing his town and bringing order even at the cost of his life!
1. Chapter 1: The Lost Jojo

April 2010, spring is as energetic as ever with the passing days and blooming flowers and foliage across a certain long road connecting seemingly from nowhere, riddled with street signs. The rumbling of a car could be heard, smooth and steady past all signs except the largest one that led to a hill and long wall.

"Hmm. Welcome to Bodou City... What a depressing name." A familiar male voice could be heard within the car, which was a blue Peugeot ROA with black-tinted windows. "Hard to believe that the Speedwagon Foundation's research pointed to this place... The next part of DIO's tracks left in the world. And one of Speedwagon Senior's only living relatives." The car continued down the road, over the hill into an enormous city with very large buildings, the entire city itself seemed to be layered and closed off in a sense with large hills and roads in the middle of the division. The upper half of the city was refined at first sight, with much newer looking buildings upon the car driving past the roads and entering while the section that the car was driving into directly was much more industrialized. Like this was fueling the other half of the city, it was dingy and filled with broken buildings.

Our car seemed to cross multiple gates and streets along the way, crossing paths with a large number of groups of thugs and homeless individuals, "Poverty seems to be a large issue here. Yare yare... I don't want anyone to cause me any trouble, I'd hate to bring unneeded attention." While peering through the tinted windows, multiple people are shooting dirty looks into the car, some were licking knives or gambling as well.

After some time our car seemed to have stopped at an address in a neighborhood on the edge of one of the main streets that led into the cleaner looking portions of the city. "This is the address. It would be awfully awkward to just walk out now," The male spoke under his breath while turning off the engine and picking up a suitcase next to him, sorting through several things within it before pulling out several photographs; one of the original founder of the Speedwagon Foundation Robert E.O. Speedwagon, another a woman with deep blonde hair who looked older, another being a boy with silver and blonde hair wrapped around one another in a coil and large ponytail on the top of his head with some of it covering his right eye, a stern expression and wearing a purple school uniform. "This kid..."

Around a half an hour had passed, several students crossed the car and walked towards the long main street, "It should be time soon. School should be starting very soon." The door to the house was watched closely.

Suddenly it swung open to a tall man and the boy from the picture walking out the door, "Okay Dad! I get it! I won't be late. Pushing me out won't help!" The grown man tugging him by the collar and lecturing him, "How about pulling then? You won't be better than your scumbag Pops if you don't get there early. Get it? And if you skip again I'm kicking your ass and you're making 1000 rice balls for dinner!" The boy jumped back and waved his hands, "S-shit! 1000!? No way, my hands will bleed! You won't even eat them all just like last time. Don't be an ass I'm going already. See ya old man!" The man nodded slamming the door behind him, and the boy strolled from his house with a sigh and passed the car, to which it followed by the door opening.

"Oi! Do you have a moment kid? I need a word." The figure stepping out of the car with a slight pose of his fingers pinching firmly at his hat then to his pocket and foot pressed forward, the suitcase in one hand and his other pocketed, it was a stoic man dressed in all white, a long coat with multiple dolphins appearing to jump from water from end to end, a very snazzy iconic hat lined with black anchors and a golden palm charm that just barely shaded his eyes, his shirt a full black and multiple belts strapped across his chest to his waist and a golden dolphin belt buckle.

The boy turned his head over his shoulder, brushing his hand away, "Look if you're trying to sell us something, we aren't interested. If you need chop shop work done, talk to the old man." Trying to walk away again after the statement but was followed with a hand on his shoulder. "Listen, It's rather important and I'm not a very patient man with bratty kids. You've got time before school by my watch. I'll walk with you."

With a reluctant sigh, the boy and the man walked side by side in silence for about two blocks, before the boy spoke up, "So what do you w-" He was cut off, "Johanne Kamijou, right?" The boy jumped back for a moment, immediately in suspicion of the comment, "Who are you and why do you know my name? You don't look from around here... Debt collector or something?"

"Yare yare..." The man stopped, tipping his hat forward and turning to the boy, "My name is Jotaro. Kujoh Jotaro. I've come from an organization called the Speedwagon Foundation on strict business involving your town. Your very way of life could be threatened."

The boy froze for a moment, still in confusion and slightly concerned, "T-that still doesn't answer all my questions... How do you know my name...?" Jotaro simply walked past him and motioned him to follow. "It's too early for this man. Look, let's go talk somewhere."

Taking the lead past Jotaro, they finally reached the section of the city where things looked much more modern. Cleaner streets, open shops with music booming from one side of the street and well-dressed individuals as far as the eye could see.

"I could use some information from you as well. Your questions will be answered." Jotaro stated peaking down in his usual almost cold glare, which sent a chill down Johanne's spine, nodding and leading Jotaro down a street.

"Look, yes my name is Johanne Kamijou. Adopted name from my current father, my mother went off somewhere to do important work but still calls and writes to me." Johanne mentioned looking down, kicking several rocks on the ground.

"We're aware of this," Jotaro added, which made Johanne turn to him in shock, "Your mother is a scientist at the Speedwagon Foundation. Also... One of the few living descendants of the Founder of the Speedwagon Foundations despite him being a bachelor. She happened to be part of the project involved in researching this town and mentioned she had a son. So I decided to see if I could get your assistance, considering you've lived here longer." Jotaro reached for another picture, confirming a tall, long blonde haired beautiful woman in glasses and a lab coat.

"Mor... Alright. I'm on board for now stranger. Here. Come inside." Johanne led them both into an ice cream parlor, to which Jotaro stood outside for a moment and shook his head glancing over his shoulder.

Johanne took a seat at the bar and immediately received a glare from the employee cleaning a cup, "Hmph. The fuck are you doing here boy!? You know I don't like you here on my shift."

Immediately a cocky grin painted across Johanne's face as Jotaro came to sit, "Now behave Ichiro, you don't want the boss to find out. Hmm?" Ichiro scoffed and turn, mumble insults about serving a dirty child. Which only made Johanne snicker.

Jotaro sat his suitcase on the counter and lifted his finger, "One iced tea please." Johanne followed with, "Chocolate milkshake. Nice red cherry." Both orders placed, Jotaro turned back and spoke. "Status is a virtue here it seems."

Johanne went quiet for a moment, "More than you could ever imagine. If you don't have money in this town. You're trash. If you aren't willing to damned near kill over a job. You're considered lazy. If you are plain unfortunate... You're a slave." These words echoed across the counter and to Jotaro, turning away for a moment.

"I see. Are you familiar with any anomalies around here?" Jotaro said sliding another picture but face down on the counter towards Johanne.

Thinking for a moment before, tapping his finger on the picture and beginning to turn it. "Not that I can think of. Well... Lately, since the elections concluded on the Mayor of this city. Things have gotten much worse like he's bent on ridding any effort for better living..." The picture turned over, it was a photograph of an arrow and an old woman passing it to a man in a suit.

"Nothing past that huh? We have a suspicion that the arrow you see in that picture might be here Johanne. We need it. The Speedwagon Foundation. You see we have deep roots with that arrow." Jotaro said looking down at his glass of iced tea, "That we believe that the change in this city might be connected to it. And a man named DIO..."

"What's wrong with this city runs a lot deeper than you think Mr. Jotaro." Johanne's milkshake was placed in front of him without the cherry, "Aren't you forgetting something?" Ichiro snickered and said, "Oh yes. My bad." Taking a cherry from the tray, licking it in front of Johanne and tossing it in his face and watching it land on top of the milkshake. Clenching his fists in rage, Johanne glared cleaning his face and began to stand up as Jotaro reached and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"This town... is corrupt. You aren't human to these people if you're below the bar, and get treated like dirt. That's why I'm going to make that difference. I'll get to this part of town and turn it upside down. I'll make pieces of shit like this regret being born and looking down on the little guy in life. My people have lived in the shadows and fed off scraps for too long! I will be their guiding light" Johanne turned to spit on the counter.

Jotaro closed his eyes in thought, smirking at the statement and felt the heart in every word. "Well said." Suddenly there was strange energy about the air that moved over the counter when one of the soda machines turned on and broken thus drenching Ichiro behind the counter causing him to release a pathetic scream, making several women laugh at him and Johanne stare in disbelief of what happened. "Shitty person and shitty at his job."

Jotaro turned back to Johanne and motioned him closer, whispering. "Listen closely when I say, this town is plagued by a curse following generations. Even your ancestor Robert Speedwagon battled this threat. DIO was a horrible man that I took down with the help of my companions in Egypt years ago that aimed to rule the world with a power beyond normal human comprehension." Tapping the picture of the arrow once more, "He used that and other powers to corrupt many good people and manipulate them to his will. Just his awakening almost took the lives of many. He was a charismatic demon, no an angel to some. But his intentions were as bad as it comes."

Jotaro continued after drinking some of his tea, "DIO spread his influence to almost every corner of this earth. Now our research seems to lead here while we are slowly cleaning up the mess he made of everything. My largest job since this was a visit to a town called Morioh. Another place heavily turned to hell by that arrow and DIO's ambitions. As innocent as it may look, that arrow gives very strange abilities to whoever comes across it. Which brings me back to my original question of anomalies around here. If our research is correct then one of the few remaining arrows made its way here and possibly in the wrong hands. Possibly into the hands of one of DIO's followers that wants to carry on his ideas now that he is dead." Finishing the tea with the speech.

Johanne laughed some and rubbed his head, "Not to be an ass here Mr. Jotaro. But you're expecting me to believe in magic or some shit? Demons and what not? You're not just pranking me after all are you?"

Continuing as he stared out the window, watching several other students walking by and figuring he wouldn't care about being late. "This DIO guy. I've never heard the name nor any of this. I'm sure I would have caught some strange events going on by now. My mother would have told me surely... If I was in that much danger. Right?"

Jotaro noticed the second-guessing and retorted. "Your mother almost begged us to tell you but communications can get rather loose and so does information. They would know I'm coming to this town and cause problems for me. Or even kill you solely due to your connections to the Speedwagon Foundation before we could do something. So I came myself."

Johanne became stiffed at the words, 'K-kill me...? N-no way...' Nervously clearing his throat despite how serious Jotaro's tone way. "Look Mr. Jotaro, I think the joke went on far enough. It's too hard to come to terms with all this. I'm just a Highschool student, I want to go into politics and fix this shithole town. I can't give in to superstition like that so easily."

Knowing this very reaction would come about Jotaro leaned back in his chair, sighing. "Yare yare... If you believe so. Then I have one last present for you boy. Then you're free to go about your business." Taking a large envelope out of his suitcase and handing it to Johanne.

"From my mother perhaps?" He slowly unfolded the envelope and reached inside before getting a sharp jolt and screaming in pain dropping a now bloodied envelope on the counter. Jotaro took his suitcase and grabbed the envelope quickly, "Hmm. I'll be seeing you then." Jotaro turned his back and began to walk out and glared over at one of the booths out of the edge of his hat before walking out the door.

Johanne kneeled beside the bar grasping his bleeding hand and groaning at the pain. It didn't come out looking like a paper cut but a pierce in his hand. "Hey! Don't go bleeding on the damn floor." Ichiro commented tossing a rag at Johanne. "Clean it up."

"Fuck you!" Johanne grabbed the rag and thought to walk out, but took the cup of milkshake and tossed it at Ichiro breaking the cup and causing some bleeding, "YOU LITTLE SHIT!" In the commotion of dashing out the door, a looming shadow was following close behind Johanne and down the street.

Around a half hour had passed, Johanne wrapped his hand stopping the bleeding for the most part, "Fuck me, man... That's a pain in the ass. Whatever Jotaro was playing at, it better be a joke. If I see him again I'm gonna-" He was cut off moments later passing a music store still within the bounds of the upper district. "No way! Pre-orders for Western rap music!" Quickly rushing in with another individual following behind him and towards the rack of records and music store standees. "Hmm. Drake. I think I've heard of works by him."

Another voice quickly followed, "Ah but you see my friend. That music isn't particularly of higher taste. Maybe something a little more refined. Owl City maybe?" A boy said, with a snicker.

Johanne turned to see another individual with a chocolate bar in one hand and an album in the other, not much younger than him but shorter. The boy was wearing a light faux fur scarf around his neck, dark blue hair just past it to his shoulders and pitched in a bright shade of blue suit. There was an eerieness from his demeanor and laugh.

"Owl City is for those with imagination. Those who think outside the box and beyond the stars, you know what I mean? Intellectuals! Snack?" He said raising a very attractive looking cherry lollipop to Johanne, to which he examined for a moment but didn't give it much thought considering his sweet tooth was still itching from the shake.

"Thanks. But, I don't have a taste for Owl City. Too upbeat for me." Johanne said twirling the candy some in his palm and moved it to his mouth.

"Tsk. Typical. All of you were creations. Scumful messes made by the government and planted within our good society to infect it with pity and disgusting taste. You must be dealt with. Mother raised me with culture and grace. To remove stains from the clothes with care and I'll be sure to do the same with you Johanne." The boy was now snickering menacingly, shaking slightly as he turned to Johanne showing his chalky skin and chocolate lining his lips.

This stunned Johanne for a moment in hesitation, "Excuse me...? What did you just say, jackass?" Johanne held the lollipop away some and quickly noticed a light coming from it. "W-what...!?" Releasing the lollipop as quickly as he could, it burst into a flash of hot colorful light in front of Johanne knocking him over one of the display tables and screaming in pain.

A cloud of smoke covering the town, the other patrons of the store and the man behind the counter stepped back in shock and confusion seeing a bleeding Johanne on the floor and laughter in the smoke. "You'll only be in the way... Every last rat within that district. You're all to be erased. Purged from your inferiority."

Johanne coughed and held his face, thankful that he tossed it enough not to cause more damage but touched the blood running down his head, "W-what the hell is that...?" Glaring at the boy and past him, could be seen some kind of floating phantom in a cryptic shape that sent even more fear and anxiety through Johanne the closer he was approached by the boy.


	2. Chapter 2: An Explosive Foe!

The crowd within the store continued to panic as the two individuals began to lose distance between one another, only a soft snicker could be heard through the smoke.

Before another word could escape Johanne's mouth, the boy who seemingly orchestrated the assault spoke up, "What is that you say? Judging by the fear of your pathetic face. You can see him. Allow me to provide some introductions. I am Avelessi Barlem... and this." Avelessi remarked as he struck a pose that parted his legs, making it seem as if he was standing a cane with both hands and smirking, a long arm sweeping away the remaining smoke to reveal the figure. "This is Eminem!"

Once the large gust was pushed away, Johanne sprawled back some in fear as this large figure appeared behind Avelessi. It was a tall, lanky and spinny figure wearing a fashionable pinstripe suit, it's body seemed to be composed of an entirely black model with piercing eyes through the shade of a top hat it wore, along with a clearly visible handlebar mustache. In its right-hand pointing at Johanne was a cane made out of gold with spiral jewels leading up from the huge pearl on the bottom to the teddy bear shaped pommel on the head of the cane, the figure upon introduction only muffled, "Hmm..." Loud enough for Johanne to hear.

"Where did the smoke go...? Is this store haunted? Is that boy some psychic or something!?" A woman in the background commented on the encounter, Johanne was listening clearly, wondering to himself; 'C-can no one else sees this thing...? Will they be able to help me out of this...?'

"What do you even want with me? I don't even know you kid." Johanne said taking another shuffled back on the floor feeling something soft yet firm to the touch brush his palm.

"First of all, I'd watch where I was scurrying little rat..." Avelessi pointed at the ground where Johanne's hand was pressed, the edge was another piece of candy.

"A Rolo...?" A small chocolate and caramel disc was there, slowly starting to flicker like the lollipop, "Shit!" Johanne screamed, using every bit of reflex he could to push off the ground and roll away revealing a few more, that caused a loud boom and damage his hand upon the roll. Using this momentum, Johanne sent his leg into one of the tables kicking it over for cover and holding his hand.

'This is bad. This is really fuckin' bad. Fuck me...' Johanne thought to himself watching the blood trickle off his hand. Avelessi only snickered as he twirled another candy in his hand.

"Truly, you are sneaky. You cannot be a normal specimen. Surely my theories are correct and you must be destroyed. Just as father wished." Avelessi boasted with his lead in the battle, his pose distorting with his head cocked and licking his lollipop.

"F-father!? Look kid I haven't done shit to anyone. I know Ichiro doesn't have kids..." Johanne scanned the area whilst most of the other guests were screaming bloody murder.

"Hey, you damn brat!" At this point, the shop owner hopped over the counter with a bat in hand and came at Avelessi, "You wrecked my shop! Take your damn fight and fireworks outta here before I -" He was cut off by Avelessi's hand.

"Do not bother me, peasant. I've tried to keep things a minimum because you have quite a wonderful selection of music. My mother sends our butler here often. She has wonderful taste and is fond of your selection. So do yourself a kindness and move on. I have business to attend to." Johanne watched from the other side of the table carefully.

"Business!? Who the fuck do you think you are!? I worked hard to make this shop what it is and you disrespect me! Now you're gonna get it!" The shop owner swung the bat at him, which was stopped by an invisible force to him, but Johanne saw it was Eminem holding the bat.

"Begone fool." Eminem snapped the bat after a moment of force, smacking it into his gut, causing his mouth to pry open, "A farewell gift." Avelessi placed a jawbreaker on his tongue and had Eminem kick him behind the counter, "Kaboom..." As a bright color flash was seen following another burst and smoke cloud.

'This dude Avelessi... He's mad. What am I supposed to do about this?' Johanne used the opportunity when searching to grab a chair that was on the ground next to the table and tossed it over the table while he wasn't looking.

Avelessi quickly dispatched the chair with Eminem's cane causing chips of wood to fall around and cloud his vision for a moment, allowing Johanne to rush him around the table, "Gotcha asshole!" Attempting to throw a punch at Avelessi, which brought a shock to him.

Eminem quickly responded to the charge and smacked his arm away with the cane, causing Johanne to groan in pain then another scream followed Eminem kicking him across the room.

Tumbling over another table and into a display stand, his back was pressed against it groaning feeling a sharp pain in his side from the kick, following some coughing a bit of blood. "W-well... That was sorta worth a shot." He spoke to himself trying to get up.

"Tsk. Stay down already. Where your kind belongs." Avelessi taunted the wounded Johanne, flicking his wrist and making sticks of pocky fly out between his fingers. "Funny thing about Eminem's ability. It's so enjoyable. It can turn simple pieces of candy, into so many fun kinds of fireworks. Like so." His wrist flicked, igniting the ends of the pocket in a sizzling flare that ran up it like a fuse.

"Oh no," Johanne whispered, making a mad dash to the side as they were sent flying already with a loud whistle popping against the displays leaving large black streaks against it and destroying some of the CDs. The last one crashed against Johanne's back and exploded causing him to tumble forward and reach back holding the wound for a moment before rolling to his knees groaning in pain.

Avelessi slowly approached him with a grin, swinging his bag of treats that He had been retrieving the ammunition from. "Oh, how the prideful have fallen. I heard your little speech at the Ice cream parlor. It was hilarious that you think you can make a difference."

Johanne's eyes flashed open in anger, leaning his chin up to see Avelessi. "W-what? Say that again punk..." His body battered but his spirit unbroken slowly began to push from the floor.

"I was blessed. Gifted even to be above all of this. A product of my beautiful mother. Above you trash below these wonderful hills. This ability was proof of my father's trust in my ability to steer these issues away." He moved his hand to place it on Eminem's arm, turning to glare at Johanne with a cheeky grin. "You're nothing and you won't be anything. Your society will be crushed by the weight of mine. Father and I will make sure of this. Then Mother will be proud again. Father won't keep her away from me. We can be a family again as soon as you and that PEST JOTARO DIE!" A bright aura flowed around Avelessi and Eminem as he took a few PEZ from a dispenser in the bag and riddled them between his fingers.

"Piece of shit..." Johanne muttered under his breath, blood dripping to the floor from his head and hand in small bits. His eyes were filled with rage as he looked past his frilled blond and silver hair. His fists clenched and pointed at Avelessi quickly, "It's shit like you and your Dad that are ruining this place. Many families starve away into nothing and disappear because of you! Bloodlines come there to die because they can't live on scraps and hope! I'll be damned if I die here and let this go on! I'll come at you and this twisted reality like never before!" An aura as well began to form around Johanne which started to make Avelessi jerk back slightly.

"Is that so!? Do you think you have what it takes? Some school skipping little dirt child!? Die!" Avelessi tossed the PEZ between his fingers at Johanne preparing for another attack.

"No, you spoiled brat! I don't think so, I WILL!" His scream echoed as the candies flew closer then flickering into another bright burning flash in front of Johanne. Avelessi covered his eyes slightly as the smoke cloud shaded the area, awaiting the dropped body of Johanne. "Don't you get any new tricks?"

Avelessi panicked quickly and stepped back as the smoke began to clear. Johanne's aura was brighter than before, his posture was solid and his rage was as pure as his piercing glare. A shimmer came from in front of him, along with a black silhouette that was even closer than that. "It can't be... You too!?"

As the smoke faded a tall, lean figure appeared before Johanne. It wore a solid, jet black marching band coat with matching straps that seemed to take the place of lower garments that hung off a straight jacket close to its legs, long stringy hair and normal humanoid eyes that had several black streaks on a white painted face almost like a doll. Gloves that had little daggers on the knuckles. "Would you look at that. I got a ghost too Avelessi."

"IMPOSSIBLE! HOW THE HELL WOULD YOU GET CLOSE ENOUGH TO MY FATHER TO GET THAT!? THIS IS A DREAM! IT CAN'T BE REAL!" Avelessi quickly passed more treats to his Eminem in which it tossed them by two waves.

"Stop them!" Quickly the black figure by Johanne waved its hand in front of the first wave making it seemingly explode on the air and the other hand reaching over and tossing a smaller table across the second wave and making it explode sending wood and dust across the area but knocking Avelessi back some.

"But how!? How did you get a ghost that strong!?" Avelessi was freaking out at this point, suddenly more footsteps appeared in the entrance.

"Yare Yare... Took you long enough kid. I know the arrow takes time but you always seem fired up on the surface." Johanne and Avelessi both turned their heads to see Jotaro in the doorway with a grin softly brushed across his lips and his hat tipped down. "Don't let me intrude."

"Not a chance!" Johanne was already dashed forward and in front of Avelessi. His right arm reared up and sent speeding towards his face, smashing Eminem's cane and sending Avelessi flying over a few more tables.

'S-shit I couldn't react fast enough...!' Avelessi barely composed the thought as he flew over and groaned in pain, quickly trying to regain his stability and grasp of the situation. "F-father said I only had this ability around here... Me... You can't..." He reached into his bag retrieving another piece of candy.

Johanne was tossing up a can of soda that had rolled off one of the snack displays next to the CDs and tossed it to his ghost, "Ah but you see jackass. I can. And I will." He pointed his finger toward Avelessi and the ghost beside him tossed the can at Avelessi's hand with such speed and force when he was preparing to toss the candy that it smacked the bag out of his hand, making him scream.

"W-why!? Why did it feel like a brick hit my hand!?" Avelessi's hand was now swollen from the impact and twitching profusely, stepping back more. "Y-you're nothing... I can't believe this. M-mother... This is impossible..." Some tears flooded his eyes in fear, his reality shattered while Johanne approached him once again and sent a devastating uppercut to him. Eminem quickly emerged to stop the attack but was quickly met with another attack from the black figure and received several jabs to the head and chest tracking the block making Avelessi cough blood before Johanne's attack hit and sent him back and slamming him onto the far end of a table against the wall propped against it.

"This isn't right... Why did I have to lose to you?" Avelessi was half conscious and looking for his bag, to which Johanne was holding and tossing up and down in his palm until he dropped it to his feet crushing it. Johanne slowly approached the table and was about to deliver the last blow.

"Hold on," Jotaro called out to Johanne before he peeked over his shoulder at him, "These ghosts usually have names. As you saw with his. And also, don't forget to say something cool. It'll feel better. Trust me." Jotaro grinned some more covering his face again.

"Hmph. Idiot..." Upon turning back around, Johanne glanced at the shelf and smirked, "Don't let me catch you degrading my folk again. Or you'll catch another set of these hands! Go M.C.R!" The newly named M.C.R slammed its fist into the table with incredible strength smashing it and flinging Avelessi into the air towards it before assaulting him mid-air with a large barrage of punches, the impact of each one hitting Avelessi echoed just barely through a loud, "NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA!" coming from M.C.R as it delivered a final blow to his back and slamming him into the rack they originally spoke at for the Owl City CDs.

Panting heavily and filled with adrenaline-fueled rage, his legs shuffled apart, his head rolled back and turned to the side and forearms crossed over his chest flaring out his fingers to pose with M.C.R as it stood behind him confidently posing with his fist raised to the air. Soon after his body caved in and collapsed to the floor, M.C.R fading into thin air soon after.

"Hmm. Well done kid. Look like you've got the heart of a Joestar after all." Jotaro walked over to Johanne, kneeling down picking up Johanne and slung him over his shoulder before turning his head to the still frightened people behind the counter, "Ah. You all have a nice day." Before exiting the building.

Sometime later...

Later in the day, much later after things had calmed down and the events of the Music Store passed around in rumor. Johanne slowly woke up in his bed to the sound of a couple of faint voices. The sun was setting slowly out his window as he tried to get up with a quick wince of pain, "F-fuck..." He said remembering the beating he took.

"Looks like you broke that promise. But I'll let you take it easy." Johanne's father slowly approached the bed, reaching his hand out and onto his shoulder. The man was dressed in a white shirt and camo jeans. Muscular, old in age but still well kept with brown hair and a sort of gray hairs on the edges, scars lining his face and arms and a star necklace. "Heard from your friend there... You got in quite the fight. Nothing like your old ones from school."

Johanne remained silent for several moments looking down at his bandaged hands and body. "I almost died today." They both grew quiet until looking in the window and jumping back seeing M.C.R in the window staring him back. "D-do you see that Dad?"

His father scratched his head observing the window, "Beside those hydrangeas I planted. I don't see a darn thing. That bump to the head hit you harder than you think?"

Jotaro approached the bed, catching Johanne's attention with a tap on the shoulder, suddenly once his head was turned Star Platinum was behind his back staring him down. "You have a ghost too...?"

"Ghosts? We've got ghosts too? What the hell is going on? You know what. I'm makin' some god damn tea." His father rose from the chair muttering to himself about his son being injured and superstition.

"So you weren't lying about anomalies and strange events. We've got these ghosts. So does Avelessi. Who knows who else might have one. Shit..." He fell back against the bed, his hair no longer pinned in the ponytail.

"Stands. These are called Stands. They are special spirits in a sort. I used to believe mine was a demon possessing me to do no good deeds. Contrary to that belief, It's a manifestation of one's inner fighting spirit. Who they are. Your fighting spirit woke itself up when you were fighting Avelessi. Of course, after you were pricked with this." Jotaro said pulling out an envelope with an arrow in it, much like the one in the pictures before.

"No fuckin' way. So that's what it was ya jerk. That hurt you know." He said turning his head back to the window groaning some. "It helped me though. So I can't be too mad."

"Stand users are attracted to one another. That might have fueled Avelessi to attack you more than just his ulterior motives." Jotaro took a seat once again making Star Platinum fade behind him. "The way he spoke. His father might have just what we are looking for." Jotaro said looking at the other arrow He was possessing.

"I'll help you. I don't know why and my back hurts like hell. But I can't just sit around with all this power and do nothing after that speech. Now, can I? Besides, I have to figure out what the hell M.C.R can do. I'm too excited Mr. Jotaro!" Johanne rolled his arm in a stretching manner, following another groan in pain then laughing at him while falling back. Jotaro only smiled and his father stood in the doorway with a wide grin holding the tray of tea.

Suddenly being pushed aside by another figure, almost dropping the cups of tea another young boy's voice chilled the room, "Hallmark moment over! Caught another beating have we? And boy did they do a number on you. Hahaha!" A young brown haired teenager around the same height, age, and build as Johanne came through, dressed in a similar uniform as him but with multiple strands and buttons with a string sash across his chest, and work boots up to his ankles instead of usual causal goth boots like Johanne.

"Ah great. Barge right in why don't you. I should call your father and have him beat you straight!" Johanne's father addressed accordingly.

"Forgive me Mr. Nobura. I was just DYING to see the shape my good friend was in." The boy said dropping beside Johanne on the bed, the shame made him groan in pain.

"Goddamnit Kiba! Watch yourself, this shit hurts like crazy. If I wasn't beat up I'd headlock your ass." He threatened back which Kiba only smiled at manically and laughed.

"Oh, you couldn't fight your way out of a wet paper bag with that mummy look you got going on. But whatever. I overheard your conversation.I'm always up for a scheme whatever the hell you mean with all these ghosts and what not. But you'll need grounds. Foundations must be broken and the information is our first stop. We need to know who to go after."

Jotaro and Johanne both sat there in silence at how informed he was with just eavesdropping. "Yare yare… Looks like you've accumulated the mind of a crook at such a young age."

Kiba snickered under his breath and flicked a pocket knife out of his wrist, juggling it over and close around his fingers with a wide smile, "What can I say? To live in this town you need skills and connections! My father brought me up to believe that. It wasn't my fault! Hahahaha!" The boy continued his cackle, obviously giddy about the trouble he was about to get in.

Johanne, Jotaro, and Nobura sighed under their breaths, distributing the cups of tea and going back to their casual ramblings past the loud noises extruding from Kiba. This was only the beginning of our adventure.


	3. Chapter 3: Into the Dungeon!

**I truly hope everyone is enjoying these chapters! I have too much fun making each and every one of the chapters. Please always feel free to comment and tell me how you feel! I put my heart into creating all my characters and I'll continue to try and post weekly if everyone is digging it so far! Enjoy! (P.S. I'm looking for one-off characters/villians if anyone wants to toss in a character. Just send me a message!)**

Around a week and a half has passed since Johanne was bound to his bed after his grueling battle with Avelessi Barlem, his face plastered in local speak as someone out to get his reputation known and more attention than ever has come his way.

Early in the morning, the same area of Upper Bodou City Jotaro and Johanne had gone before to have ice cream, Johanne was there with some bandages still over his hand and cheek, with his good friend Kiba beside him. "So you're telling me I'm the talk of the town right now? Big cheese? top news? All I did was kick one guy's ass." Johanne said stirring around his straw in a glass of cola.

"More or less my man and some of the crap they say couldn't be funnier. 'Oh my! That troublemaker jumped a poor boy' 'I hope his parents sue him for assaulting that child' 'Man he's a badass for curb stomping that dickhead.' You know crap along that line. I made that last one up. It brings juicy talk." Kiba snickered sipping on a milkshake.

Johanne groaned in aggravation turning to slug Kiba in the arm and planting his head on the counter, "You dick. I didn't curb stomp him! Even though I should have..." He followed the statement with a sigh.

"Oi! Get the hell off the counter with your pouting! This isn't a bar." Ichiro said slamming his fist against the counter shaking up Johanne and spilling some of the soda on him which got dirty looks shot at Ichiro. "I ain't surprised that these rumors would be true with a hoodlum like you. Keep letting them spread like that and the Dungeon Master'll come." He walked away to the sink chuckling, going to wash the dishes pushed through the window.

"Dungeon Master? What kind of crap is he even on about?" Johanne brushed the soda that spilled off with a napkin turning to Kiba who was snickering against the straw until he held up his finger.

"The Dungeon Master is a rumored bounty man in the backstreets. People say that he's on some stuff like those movies Saw. You meet him if you've been known to sin a little too much or do wrong. Then you disappear." Giving another laugh and tapping his spoon on the glass to get Ichiro's attention. "But that's just a rumor. A legend. Refill pleeeeease."

"You know after these instances that have gone down. I'll believe anything." He said reaching his hand out and summoning M.C.R's long arm beside him and they both clenched their fists.

Ichiro came back again, slamming the glass on the counter and glaring at the boy who seemed to bark orders at him, only pissing him off more spilling a bit of the milkshake on the counter in front of Kiba, "Hurry up and finish. You're holding spots for actual valuable customers. Not snot-nosed little brats."

Kiba flipped him off as he turned away. Johanne watched him closely and saw that there was a bucket beside him, tapping Kiba's shoulder and motioning him to watch. "Hey, Ichiro. Could you check this light? I could have sworn it blinked." He said pointing to the old neon sign above the bucket.

"Eh? I just fixed this thing." As Ichiro moved to inspect the light M.C.R's torso and arm extended over the counter, attacking the bucket with two light quick jabs turning the bucket into a very pasty liquid-like state with the first then the second returned the bucket to its normal solid state. "Nothing's wrong with this damn sign. All you kids do is waste my ti- WOAH!"

Before he could realize what had happened, he fell over to the floor trying to walk with his shoes locked to the floor. Kiba and Johanne both held their hands to their mouths cracking up into laughter at the sight.

"Oh, you think this is funny!? I don't know what the hell you bastards did but I'm gonna -!" He was quickly cut off by a door shutting and a female voice, "You're going to what Ichiro?" Quickly hesitating and shivering, "Oh fuck."

Soon after behind the large man, a woman that looked like she was barely older than Johanne and Kiba but still very firmly shaped out, obviously by the voice a grown woman with long pink and green hair, a tank top that showed off her sizable bust that was shaped in several zig-zag shapes almost like lightning bolts and clipped around her shoulders with thin chains and a mini skirt with dollar sign and heart accessories hanging off the edges. "Now don't you go scaring away some of my best and cutest customers or I'll have you on trash duty for a month. Out!" She pointed towards the kitchen.

Ichiro groaned, feeling embarrassed as he was guided out of the room and the woman made her way over to the boys with a wide grin, pressing her chest to the counter and smiling, "He's always such a pain to you young boys, isn't he? How else am I going to get my fill of attention if you are pushed out the door?"

"Ah Megumi-Senpai you've come to the rescue once again and as dashingly as ever I see," Kiba commented sipping his treat with a wink. Which earned him a giggle.

"Compliments will get you everywhere. Like here." She said slowly reaching for her chest in secrecy making the boys move closer only for her to quickly reach in and pull out a very dark photo and place it on the table. "Believe it or not, I've done my research on the Dungeon Master. He's a sneaky one, never likes to stay out long. A vigilante if you will. If I got the chance to meet him." She simply shivered into holding herself.

Johanne investigated the photo closely and scratching his head. "It's a man laying against a wall. His cape is dark blue, his hair is brown and short. He's a pretty tall guy. Wait... It can't be." Upon closer examination, he tapped on a very dark sign in that was scratched out, "I know where that's from. It's the old orphanage on the other side of town, the one that got burned down last year."

Kiba leaned over, raising his brow to the picture as well as Megumi turning to him. Kiba spoke out in confusion, "I don't see how you saw that from all this darkness. I just see that slumped over dude." Megumi soon added, "Likewise Johanne, I had no clue. He sounds even more mysterious. I need answers. Don't be too long now. I have work to do. Ta ta for now." she slipped the picture back into her chest and swayed back into the office.

"You know that woman could smash bricks with those hips," Kiba commented finishing his milkshake earning another smack on the arm from Johanne. "Ah! Chill my man. I only speak the truth."

"I was able to see that because of M.C.R. While I was bedridden, Jotaro was teaching me a lot of things about Stands. It's not as strong as his Star Platinum. But it's good enough to see what the naked human eye can't." Johanne left the money for their orders on the counter and got up.

"Man this is going to be fun! You guys and these Stands sure are making things interesting. Off to the back streets!" Kiba said in an enthusiastic tone. "Where's that Jotaro guy anyway?"

"Beats me, man. He's usually on the phone or looking through documents. The guy really likes dolphins." Johanne shrugged off his suspicions and motioned Kiba to follow him out the door, "Besides, I'm sure this experience could do good for us. The back streets are in the information district. I'm sure we can find out who sent Avelessi after me and maybe more about that arrow Jotaro mentioned."

Kiba and Johanne continued on their way in the wedge between the two sections of the city with the information that Kiba knows of the backstreets and Johanne's knowledge of the building from the photo, little did they know what was happening in those streets...

"Okay, so we've been out here for a couple of hours now. Where the hell is this place dude? You sure your Stand isn't messed up or something?" Kiba said being annoyed, his hands pressed to the back of his head.

"I'm sure of it. As long as you haven't given us the wrong directions. We should- Wait, come here!" Johanne grabbed Kiba's arm and tugged them behind a trash can.

Over the cans would be a man in a bloody white work shirt on his knees facing towards a figure around the corner, the boys listened in close. "Please! Please! I've done all I can! I have nothing left! I quit drinking, I'm working overtime! My life is a mess and I get no sleep! More time is all I need..." The man on his knees begged.

"You had all the time in the world Mr. Junn. You had your chance to redeem yourself long ago. You think what you've suffered through pales in comparison to the boy?" Another voice spoke calmly, almost charming.

"I can't do it all. I didn't mean to do it! He was there and I was so angry after the divorce! Please! Just more ti-" The man was cut off by being sent flying into the wall behind him and coughing blood.

"I'll be taking him with me. To a better place. Where you can't hurt him any longer. I'm sure your wife will contact the police soon. You'll surely take the fall here." He said again as the man slowly faded into unconsciousness reaching out to the voice.

Johanne leaned in close to Kiba and whispered in a panicked tone, "A stand! I saw a leg there that didn't look human. It faded away after it kicked him."

Kiba quickly replied with a somewhat frightened demeanor, "That's some spooky shit. I didn't see anything, he just flew. The hell do we do now?"

"I know you're there. I can feel you, that looming feeling. That same presence I got from that man. You won't get away with this. If you don't come for me. I'll surely come for you." Only footsteps could be heard shortly after, assuming the man was leaving.

This shot sparked in Johanne's spirit, without hesitation he dashed from behind the cans and ran around the corner to see the figure in the long cloak heading down some stairs, "Wait... It's here!" The sign that was rusted away from time, the one from the picture hung over the stairs that led down into what looked like a large storage basement. "Kiba! Wait here!"

"Don't mind me. I'll just..." Making his way over to the man that was rolled over on the wall, Kiba snickered and pulled out a black marker.

Johanne crept his way down the stairs slowly into darkness, only small barely boarded up windows in the back of the large room could be seen, with several broken tables and old furniture.

"I knew you just couldn't resist walking into trouble. That's all your type is good for." The very same voice from before. Followed by a swift shimmer of light crossing Johanne's face which he just barely dodged and stabbed into the wall. "Not bad. Not bad at all."

"Out to take my head off already? Shit, I just wanted to talk. What was the deal with that guy? What did you do to him?" Johanne said hurrying further into the darkness to search but only heard dashing footsteps.

"The same fate that you're going to fall under. You know you aren't that hard to pick out of a crowd. I could sense this terribly strong feeling the moment you crossed that alley. The timing couldn't be better. For your punishment!" Another strike came from behind, a chair was sent flying at Johanne that was quickly dispatched by M.C.R blocking it for him.

"So they weren't kidding when they mentioned you, huh? For what reason do you have any beef with me, buddy? I just want to talk! This doesn't have to go that way." Johanne pleaded once more, his eyes darting around the shadows, along with M.C.R inspecting.

"Ah, so the rumors aren't a lie. What a shame to snuff out such talent! But I show no mercy to those that harm children!" Quickly from his side was a dashing figure and another gleam of light.

Johanne thought to himself as he caught the sight, 'Fuck! He must have gotten the knife he threw!' As fast as he could, M.C.R grabbed the arm that shoved the knife towards him, just barely gashing his side with it and Johanne sent his fist at the face of the hooded figure before him knocking him back, but the man caught his footing and the man's Stand just as fast attacked M.C.R with impressive speed and strength sending Johanne flying back onto the ground underneath a window, making one of the windows shift from the impact and the board open more light to see the figure much better.

"S-so it is you. The Dungeon Master! Alright. That saves me a lot of time. Especially considering you're a Stand user. Jotaro said were drawn to one another but not like this. Listen, man, I-" Johanne once again was shut down in the middle of his words.

"Enough speaking you scum! If you know who I am. You know what comes next." His hands reached out, from his aura came a rather thick book. In the other hand, something small fell into it.

"Shit this must be his Stand's ability... Oh well talking is out the window I guess." Johanne held his ground and groaned feeling some blood roll down his side from the knife.

"Catch!" The man flicked his wrist rather quickly and tossed whatever fell into his hand, M.C.R quickly phased in front of Johanne in a blocking motion, leaning over its shoulder to see what was thrown as a small thud hits its arm and fell to the ground, 'Wait.. is that a dice...?'

The man snickered under his breath as the dice began to brightly glow on the ground and the book was now shimmering as well in the darkness further revealing himself as a large humanoid figure cloaked in a chained hood was fading slowly.

On complete reflex, Johanne dashed backward and wiped the air in front of him a clear barrier was created in front of him, having troubling flashbacks after the fight with Avelessi but the dice took afloat into the air and shook on the number 1. "Are you serious? What kind of attack is that?"

"A natural 1? It'll have to do for now. But for what kind of attack? You'll soon see for yourself. Now! OPEN THE GAME!" As the man called out the words that echoed in the room, soon a ring of light shot out of the ground and wrapped around Johanne's arm as well as the man. Then a large circle formed on the floor while the book flew open in his hands and the pages rapidly turning before his eyes.

"Come forth! Do my bidding!" Rising from the circle in the floor, large clattering could be heard followed by some quiet yet ghastly noises. Johanne's hands pushed away from his eyes in disbelief to see a group of skeletons with glaring empty black and red eyes slowly creeping towards him. The man glaring over with a large grin across his face.

"Okay. Straight to the horror movie shit. I can get down with that. Fuck me, man..." Johanne sighed deeply and charged forward into the group immediately tackling his way through the first. "Oh well, this isn't that bad. Guess I'll-" Soon after his comment, his arm had been bitten into by one of the skeletons.

"SON OF A BITCH!" Johanne quickly angered sending his fist into the skeleton's head and smashing it making the rest of it roll to the floor. M.C.R quickly unleashed a barrage of punches through its 'NANANANANANA!' sending the bones flying across the room.

Johanne was obviously pissed and ready as an attack dog, glaring down the man who was now once again joined by his physical stand rolling out of the shadows from its long dark velvet ripped cloak with black streaks. The light shimmering from the book and its body showed it was a rather muscular figure with chains around its waist, face wrapped in bandages with a deadpan, almost neutral expression on its face. Light armor plating over the chest, shoulders, and legs. Hexagon patterns on its knuckles with a variety of numbers stamped on each. One of the patterns seemed to fall down off it and into the man's hand.

"Ready for round two, fiend!?" The dice in his hand was tossed up and down in an almost taunting manner, grinning once more at Johanne.

"Fuck this. If you don't want to listen I'll make you listen!" Johanne charged him once again, with remarkable speed sending his own fist at his face while M.C.R took another toss at him. M.C.R's attack was dispatched by a block from one of the platings on the Stand, while the man took Johanne's fist but returned his own quickly but changed the palm in a pushing motion making Johanne stumble back.

Johanne groaned in pain for a moment, moving his palm to check his jaw but quickly shaking to notice something roll off his shoulder, "O-oh fuck..." Johanne quickly stumbled trying to catch the dice but missed watching it roll to the floor.

The dice came to a stop shortly after with the number 11 now shining on the dice and the circle once again opening up behind Johanne. Upon turning around, a large single-eyed sphere-like creature with savagely sharp teeth and multiple tendrils with eyes on the ends of each. The beast immediately came to attack Johanne.

It's lunge barely snapped his leg with the dodge while another unexpected attack found himself being targeted by another thrown knife. This time it barely scratched him as M.C.R caught the blade in its hand making a cut in it. Johanne panted softly being shocked from the sudden attack. "You're out to be a sheer asshole I see. Alright, we'll play your game!"

Johanne collected the knife from M.C.R both him and his Stand readying for the next attack. The large beast, commonly known in average lore or fantasy as a Beholder Zombie, an undead creature with a menacing bite attack. Once again taking another chomp towards Johanne, M.C.R swiftly pushed its arms between the jaws holding them open but making Johanne's hands bleed from contact with the sharp teeth. "Fuckin' bastard!" Johanne quickly flipped around the knife while M.C.R stilled his target taking out about 3 of the tendrils until finally jamming the knife into the large staring eye.

The beast reared back in pain, feeling its blood spray across the floor and some over Johanne. The Dungeon Master snickered and folded his arms, the two of them locked eyes shortly through the cries of the beast. The other silently sizing up their opponent for the remaining battle ahead. Johanne flipped the knife pointing it at the Dungeon Master, spitting on the ground with his declaration of attack know they both posed quickly, book and blade in hand!


	4. Chapter 4: Man who bares the Devil

**I apologize for holding the chapter off this long. It's been a wild week for me and hard to keep things together. Either way, I hope you all enjoy! I'm having a blast typing this up every week! :D**

Continuing where our young combatant Johanne left off, his glare locked into a still battle with the Dungeon Master, one waiting patiently for their chance to strike at the vital opportunity.

Within the desperate wails and cries of the Beholder Zombie, the monster used whatever strength it had left to lunge at Johanne who quickly responded to the attack, letting himself get bitten into following with M.C.R's arm rising from behind him and dicing it down the center, finally ending it the suffering of the creature.

Its blood sprayed out once again clouding Johanne's vision for the moment, losing sight of the Dungeon Master. His eyes darted the room in search of the man until another shimmer came from behind him with another stab from a larger knife came swinging towards him. Quickly shifting around there was a sort of thunk sound with both stopped in their tracks. "What the hell!?" The man reacted quickly gazing down to see Johanne blocking the stab with his arm but upon closer examination it was blood!

Johanne smirked up at the man, "I've hardened the blood from my wound into a guard. You got a lot of those knives, I suppose you can't use your physical stand while your summonings are still active. Which means..." While Johanne was holding him in place in the ridges of his blood, M.C.R quickly shot out and sent a barrage of punches at the man once again sending him flying back and releasing the knife.

Upon stumbling over, groaning in pain and pushing himself off the ground slowly, he glared across the room at Johanne who was smirking and spinning the knife in his hand. "So you've figured out that much about my Stand. I haven't had a challenge like this in far too long. Ever since that man."

"You're mentioning the man once again. I told you before, I don't have any intention on harming anyone unless provoked. You've misunderstood the entire situation."Johanne said brushing off his hand to clean the blood.

"If that may be so. Make me understand! Defeat my game and show me the will you have!" Dungeon Master's tone was suddenly shifted. To Johanne's notice, they were both sporting grins and could tell by the change in atmosphere things were coming to a close. Johanne's hand lifted and motioned his fingers as if saying, 'Bring it on'.

Manifesting yet another dice in his hand, and tossing it into the air several times then sending it flying towards Johanne once again. This time, however, Johanne took the dice and rolled it properly on the ground. They both watched consciously as the dice rolled slowly and landed on the number 5.

The circle appeared once again along with another large series of page flips in the book, from the circle's glow soon crawled out four small bodies followed by another larger figure that was a bit taller than Johanne.

"Man outnumbered once again. That book of yours just doesn't like to play fair." Johanne readied himself once again, waving the larger knife around as the creatures that crawled out were bipedal humanoid creatures speaking gibberish.

The largest one let out a battle cry followed by slamming its large weapon against the ground several times and ordering the smaller ones to attack. In a standard monster manual, these creatures would be known as goblins, smaller than average but still, a challenge in numbers and the largest one was known as a Bugbear, a much larger sort of goblin that acted as a leader for the troupe.

The Bugbear let out a much more menacing growl at Johanne as the Dungeon Master rose his arm up and ordered the attack. The smaller goblins advantaged on him and swung small swords at him. Two of caught Johanne's arm and a leg but quickly responded driving the knife into one of their skulls quickly pushing it off then send a devastating kick to the other making it drop the small sword.

Another one jumped into Johanne's back and bit into his shoulder making him cry out in anger. The other saw the opening and jumped at Johanne. He quickly turned his back and made the jumping Goblin stab the other in the back with its sword killing it.

"Serves you right ya little shit. You know I imagine you could control these things to ease up some." He said staring over his back to watch the goblin struggle to retrieve the sword.

"Now where would the fun in that be?" The man replied snapping his fingers making the Bugbear charge him and swing the mace it held at Johanne, who quickly took notice to the strike and turned his back fast enough and angled it so the goblin bodies got smashed against him and knocking him down but coughing some blood from the force of the impact.

"F-fuck that doesn't feel good..." The Bugbear roared once more and went for another swing but M.C.R quickly responded to the swing and sent his fist into its arm snapping it in the opposite direction and making the bone pop out.

The monster groaned and held its arm, giving Johanne the chance to quickly reach over and grab one of the swords jamming it into the Bugbear's leg, making it take a knee. Johanne saw the Bugbear swing its arm again feeling it suddenly fly off by an invisible force in the air. "I placed a sharp pane of hardened air by your arm, you cut it off yourself dickhead. "

The monster angrily panicked pushed its body forward headbutting Johanne and falling over to the floor wriggling in pain. Stumbling back and brushing the blood off his lip, he grabbed the last sword laid on the ground and stumbling some jabbing it into the monster's thick skull causing it to only flail in pain.

"God these things just don't give up!" M.C.R's leg rose from the side of Johanne's rising up and stomping the sword into its skull, finally ending it. Johanne's stare was once again met with the Dungeon Master's. "So, I won the last round. Time for the boss fight huh?"

The man laughed to himself and held his side, "Truly are something else, you know that. Though I know where this goes from here." He said as He quickly closed the book in his hand making it disappear, along with the dice on the ground and the bodies of the slain creatures, the circle and the seal that wrapped around Johanne's arm. "You've passed the game."

"Game my ass. You've got to be kidding me, man." Johanne cracked his knuckles as M.C.R rose from behind him in full body. "Like Bruce Lee coming at Chuck Norris, I won't hold back with this round."

The man walked towards Johanne slowly with his grin still proudly bared, his arm whipped out and out of his cloak, his Stand immersed once again in full body, "Awaken! Dragonforce!" Breaking into a full sprint towards Johanne.

"Here I come!" Johanne stumbled forward but pushed past the pain, making his blood drip some and dashed forward back at him, M.C.R lunging forward and taking a punch.

The man hesitated for a moment, shifting his position and noticing the speed, "He's got more range than me. His attack will hit first!" Swiftly without a thought tucked his body to take the punch but used it to push him close enough with the force of the punch to have Dragonforce slam its fist into Johanne's injured side.

Both of them groaning in pain and retreating, Johanne stepping back and the man pushing off the ground and shoving himself into a crouch looking forward. "Not too bad my friend. Not too bad."

"Oh, nice to know the word 'friend' is a common term after you've beaten me halfway to hell," Johanne screamed out and dashed forward once again.

"You've had many attempts to kill me until now. Dispatching all my creatures and still trying to talk. You've got heart. I like that. I respect it. A true adventurer's will!" the man pushed off the ground and responded to the attack, the two of their stands meeting face to face and engaging in a rush of punches to one another.

"You're wide open!" Johanne swung his arm making the blood on it whip into the man's eyes and causing him to rear back for a moment.

"S-shit! I got sloppy!" Upon clearing the blood from his vision he was quickly greeted with Johanne headbutting him in the nose and making him stumble back further.

"I'll make this easy, I still need you conscious. M.C.R!" His stand shot forward and caught him in the recovery of the headbutt, sending a flurry of punches, a loud 'NANANANANANANA!' echoing in the wake of his blows hitting the man's chest and knocking him back to the floor.

Both of them panting heavily, their Stands fading slowly. Johanne sighed softly, walking over to the man slowly who was staring back at him. "Ready to talk now? Who's that man?" Reaching his hand out to him.

The man moved his hand out, taking it slowly and shaking from the pain. "Fine. I'll talk. You've bested me at my own game. The man was Avelessi's father. I reached out to the streets to find out who exactly you attacked when the rumors spread. But I didn't have to look far."

Johanne helped him off the ground and to catch his balance, "Avelessi's father seems to have some issues. He was after a friend of mine as well. Avelessi was sent to kill us both but didn't expect me to have a Stand. He attacked me first and killed another man at the music store."

The man shook his head in response, "He wasn't alone... I'm not sure what it was about this man. But I felt like I couldn't deny this job. He was looming, menacing as if I was staring into the devil's gaze. Almost as if I literally couldn't resist the job out of sheer fear when I've never been scared of another man my entire life. I could barely see his face in our meeting. They kept it secluded and dark. Much like that deal, you saw earlier with that man. "

"I think I should look more into this. He's probably behind a lot of this. Either that or Avelessi's father." Johanne spoke to himself under his breath before turning back to him, "Have you seen an arrow by chance? Or heard of one? Apparently whoever's behind this might have a certain terrifying power."

The man's eyes perked up and stepped forward, "A rather old looking arrow? Very strange markings with a heart-shaped hole at the arrowhead!?" His words hastened in his advance.

Johanne stepped back a moment holding his hand up, "Exactly that. A friend of mine was looking for it. Says it might have something to do with the changes that have occurred in the city."

"That man. He had an arrow. He carried it in a suitcase, a black one and showed it every one of us he offered the job. There were three others. They mentioned that if we wanted to perform these tasks, we had to 'evolve' as humans..."

~FLASHBACK - THE DAY OF THE JOB~

A dark room filled with silence and several armed individuals, four men lined in a row before several men with guns to their sides, behind them is a man within a chair with several obscure looking individuals behind him and another man holding a case.

The man in the chair spoke up, "You all have reputations and legacies to lead within our world. Futures to create. But they all start with my demand. My desires. My will. You have special talents that set you apart from the rest and I need agents of abnormal quality monitoring my streets. Making sure the gears turn as they need. Money is easy to come by, but good help is hard to find. You will take this job and you will start now. Being within this room means you will not leave without joining my force. You will die upon refusal. For you see, there are measures that need to be taken to make sure my final take over of this city is done. There was once a great man, a powerful man who shined like a god and inspired my goals. He placed his grace upon me and rewarded me with his power to continue to change the world in his wake. He has passed for some time now, and I am only a mere fragment of what he had planned. I will live my life as he lived his. In pursuit of his greatest goal. And mine is absolute and utter control. Dominance over the pathetic will of man. Desires are basic human functions but those who act on those desires rise above. Now is your time. You will be guided to the room over there for your qualification..."

The Dungeon Master himself, as bold as his reputation is, didn't bother for even a second to hesitate to challenge this man. He was simply too powerful in speech and strength. The man standing next to the speaker unfolded a suitcase and pulled out an arrow from the suitcase and took the first individual into the room, a woman. Soon after, there was horrible screaming. One of the other individuals almost jumped up to respond to the scream and was immediately targeted by all the armed men.

"Now, now. You aren't going to defy me. I won't even ask. I know you won't. She is fine. Your turn is next." The speaker said again. It took some time before the door opened and she was silently guided to another room, a waiting room they all started in. The man followed up next, another loud blood-curdling scream was heard and it made him even more nervous.

Finally, after around 25 minutes of rotating them out, He managed to make his way into the room. There was an operating table with a light above it. The man who was holding the arrow finally revealed himself to be an older gentleman with a business suit on, gray and blue hair and a wide grin, "Greetings Dungeon Master, or would you prefer Mr. Kusanagi? Haha. Sit still and this will be fast." He slowly approached him, making him even more nervous the closer he got. Suddenly from his side, the arm of his stand, Dragonforce, pushed out and grabbed the man's arm and squeezed. "What in the fresh hell!? What is this!?"

"Shit! I'm so sorry I can explain just..." He panicked recalling his stand in a hurry, examining the door and the man before a hand was held up to halt his fear.

"No. This is very good news. You have experience. All the others had a much stranger and harder time. No one usually takes it easy when it comes to achieving their Stands. But I can assume you were born with it. I'll inform the boss. You may proceed to the next room for assignment."

~END OF FLASHBACK~

"And so the rest of us were assigned to our jobs and areas. The boss used the arrow to create Stand users to-" He spoke on in a bit of a hush until he was interrupted.

"Get down!" Johanne screamed suddenly, tackling him over and calling out M.C.R once again that seemed to block some oncoming impact, Johanne screamed out and blood splashed out in sharp pain.

"Well, I guess you aren't as big of an amateur as that fight seemed. The streets raised you well Mr. Kamijou." Another voice came from the doorway. Flipping what seemed like a small tribal dagger in his hand.

"Y-you..! What are you doing here!?" The Dungeon Master broke into a cold sweat and glared down the man. Johanne responded differently watching several oddly jagged daggers fall out of M.C.R's arms, "What the hell are those...? Bone knives?"

The man who spoke from the door pointed the one in his hand at them both, "This was a warning Edward. Your last one. Next time it'll be those children that suffer. We want to see his head roll and that mouth of yours shut. You know I'm watching." He quickly jumped back grabbing the edge of the door and flipping upward from the door.

Johanne turned around to see the man he now knows as Edward from the man, holding his shoulder as one of the knives hit him deeper out of Johanne's sight. "Shit! Come on, I'll take you to a friend of mine. We can get you patched up. I don't feel his presence anymore but I'm having M.C.R watch out backs just in case" With that statement, Johanne grabbed him off the ground and started walking out.

"Why? Why bother? You got what you needed, didn't you? I don't serve any further purpose to you. They are going to come back and kill me anyway." Edward said slouching over Johanne's shoulder trying to struggle.

Johanne elbowed him in the ribs and kept walking, "I don't see a reason you have to die. You might be a jackass but he mentioned children. And that man from earlier you hurt his father, assumable because he was harming a kid. You have to have some good in you."

Edward stared over at him through his draped hair, his heart touched by the words and only sighed softly, "Well color me thankful. I owe you one. I don't know what they would do if I died here."

"They're safe, right? Out of harm's way?" Johanne took him up the stairs looking around, a lot of time had passed.

"Of course. Its a safe-haven some blocks away. I'll have to move them again since He knows. It'll be for the be-" Edward was very quickly cut off, seeing the man he attacked earlier stripped bare and drawn all over, followed by rumbling of trash cans. "Ah! Watch out!"

Edward pointed in the direction of the rumbling just for one to fall over and out came Kiba, rubbing his head. "Did you guys see that ninja!? Holy shit!"

Johanne and Edward just stared down at Kiba with deep sighs, then Johanne broke into a burst of soft laughter following a few coughs.

Sometime later...

In the dead of night, we close in on the setting of the usual Ice Cream Parlor and into the backroom. Jotaro, Johanne, Edward, and Ichiro were there. Ichiro was tasked to tend to the wounds with a couple of medical workers from the Speedwagon Foundation, "I've never done this before. Well, I had to do a few fix-up jobs back on the school's track team but you look like hot shit." Ichiro commented.

"Yeah, I imagine you're loving this sight here. Ah! Watch it!" Johanne said feeling Ichiro tighten his bandages and snicker. He was quickly silenced with a hand to the back of his head that was too familiar.

"Is it finally okay for me to join the party boys? I've been way too anxious this entire time!" Megumi commented while taking a slow drag of a cigarette, now sporting a long black leather coat with the same accessories as her skirt dangling over the edges.

"Ah. Megumi-Senpai. Sorry to keep you waiting. But, yeah. Here he is. The Dungeon Master himself. He's uhh a little knocked out though. He has some broken ribs and some blood loss. Yeah." Johanne coughed turning away looking for his shirt.

"Oh no, don't mind me. I'm still enjoying the sight. I've been researching this man for AGES. It's enough for me." She took another hit of her cigarette, sitting next to Edward and running her long fingernails through some of his hair. "It's like meeting your hero, ya know?"

Johanne just stared in confusion, putting his shirt back on. "Well, anyway. I'll be heading home now. I have Dad worried sick over me. If you don't mind Megumi, can we keep him he-"

"Oh, that won't be a bother! I'll keep him safe for you. No one will disturb this angel under my watch." She giggled under her breath and rolling her cigarette around.

Johanne blankly stared back and sighed turning to Jotaro. "We have a lot to discuss once we get back to my house. You won't believe what I've found out..."


	5. Chapter 5: Hear me out!

**Another week, another chapter! I'm having a blast still writing this story and it feels good just getting someone to view the story for a little bit. I'm working on getting some cool art done for the story that I can't wait to start showing. Please give me some feedback and share it around to your friends! Enjoy!**

One battle after another since the arrival of Jotaro Kujoh, Johanne and his friends have once again taken a good rest in between their endeavors to lay low and plan their next moves while their wounds were tended.

It was another evening that we were greeted with Johanne and Kiba walking down the street once again batting at one another about their day.

"I'm telling you, should have studied. Maybe you wouldn't have gotten caught." Johanne said taking a long drink of a water bottle.

"Well, it's your fault for not distracting the teacher when she came by my desk! You know I suck at math." Kiba rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest leading the way.

"Yeah. I know. That's why I didn't do it. Stands aren't meant to do dumb shit like that. Besides I'm not even sure I passed the damn test dude."

"Then what the hell did I copy off you!? You're supposed to be the smart one Mr. Change the Future!" Kiba attacked him playfully which earned him a quick lashing glare.

"Well, at least I tried to be prepared for it! Unlike someone who's failed the last three trying to lean half a row over and falling asleep!"

"Hey! Who says you can come in here with that noise? This is a place of business." The boys had soon arrived at their new 'hang out' spot, the Ice Cream Parlor La Megumi. Instead of their usual scolding and attack from Ichiro, this time upon examination was Edward behind the counter cleaning a glass. Instead of his tattered coat and jeans, he was wearing proper work slacks and a chef's apron.

"You've settled in nicely haven't you bud? Looking all good in your... little... barista out..." Kiba commented trying not to laugh once again.

Johanne slapped him upside the head and guided him to the counter to sit, "Don't mind this dick. You're fitting in fine here. At least you're not trying to kill me."

"S-sorry about that again. It was my mistake... I know I've said it a million times but, it was a horrible misunderstanding." Edward said placing the glass behind the counter with a sigh.

"Water under the bridge my man. After I saw the way those orphans ran and hugged you like you were their actual parent. I knew you were a good guy for sure. And I'm sure Megumi was glad to have you working here to support them." Johanne said tapping the menu to order his usual shake.

Soon a girlish snicker came from behind the tall man and arms were thrown around him which sent a shiver up Edward's spine in shock, Megumi tucking her head under his arm, "Oh you have no idea. It's been soooo nice having an extra pair of hands around here. You know Ichiro is rather limited in use other than hassling the customers. But to have Edward around. Ah! Magnificent. Keep up the good work." She let out a bold laugh, slipping into her backroom with a loud close of the door.

The three just remained silent, staring at the door in utter discomfort at the sudden intrusion upon their conversation until Edward spoke up, "Yeah, that's been a common occurrence since I've started uhh 'working' here I suppose. Has she always-"

Johanne and Kiba both immediately cutting him off, "Yes! She's fangirled over you for ages now." Both of them leaving Edward in a slightly cold sweat but took a breath going back to casually working.

"Now, I've done some research for you boys. I haven't exactly found out who's behind what yet. Ever since that day, all I've known is the face of the man who almost pierced me with the arrow, is more than just a henchman. By the voice over the phone, I know it was Avelessi's Father. He seemed to have an unnatural hatred for you all when he hired me for that job. And I know He's working with the boss. He has a bigger role in this and I just can't piece the information together properly..."

"But... Perhaps I can offer some assistance..." They were all taken by this sudden, yet familiar voice. Turning suddenly in their chairs, everyone could see none other than Avelessi himself standing before them in his usual attire but underneath his jacket was his hanging arm in bandages and a strap around his neck and shoulder holding it up.

Johanne immediately rose from his chair with a crushing glare, his arm flicking to summon his Stand M.C.R and Kiba slipping a knife from the counter and spinning it between his fingers. "You've got a lot of nerve showing up here Avelessi. Without your Stand out too."

"N-no! Please... hear me out for a moment Johanne..." He said reaching into the strap holding his arm and taking out a white handkerchief with his initials on it dropping it on the ground.

This took everyone by surprise, especially Johanne who soon after retracted his Stand and crossed his arms, "I'm listening."

Avelessi went silent for a moment, then suddenly started to shake and choke on his words, "I-I..." His fist that wasn't injured clenched quickly grasped his heart, "I need your help... Johanne... Please!"

Everyone was awestruck at his sudden appearance when Avelessi rose his head his eyes were filled with tears, he was a mess before them. A once overly prideful, cocky rich kid in Johanne's eyes was pleading to him.

Edward and Kiba stared over at Johanne who was letting his hair shadow his eyes in silence, "What did you mean before about 'assistance'? What help do you need?" Johanne quickly spat out.

Avelessi could feel the slight malice from their encounter around a month ago. "I heard you all talking about my father, Ulysses Barlem. I want to help you! I need someone to stop my father!"

Edward darted his attention to the boys in a somewhat panic before reaching over to tap the bell, "Ichiro. Can you take over the front test for me? I need a moment."

"W-what? Now you're bossin' me around? Oi, if I didn't have the right mind..." Ichiro complained to himself dropping his mop. Edward motioned to all the boys to follow him.

They all moved to the backroom of the Ice Cream Parlor, they all had to take some time to process the words coming from Avelessi, even himself.

"You want us... to stop your father?" Kiba commented still playing with the knife and looking around at the room of individuals.

Avelessi quickly nodded and stepping forward and taking a deep breath, "I overheard the conversation in entirety. Along with the conversation you had with my father that night he hired you, Edward... It all started that night. If you'll allow me a moment of your time..."

~ FLASHBACK - A WEEK AGO... ~

In the dead of night, we close in on a very large home that seemed to be gated around and surrounded by multiple men dressed in black, with the front gate having large 'B's on the front.

Inside the home, we slowly make our way to a room, a large room that was riddled with hunting trophies around the wall and several wine cases. Dead bears, deer, Buffalo, so on so forth. Among the silence was the crackling sound of fire in a fireplace and two individuals standing before it, Avelessi and Ulysses.

"Hmm. How are those injuries coming along? Feeling better?" He asked Avelessi, stirring around a glass of wine in his hand.

Avelessi nervously stared back at the man, knowing the expression on his face wasn't a true concern, "I-I'm getting better... It's still hard to move my right."

"Is it now, son?" He commented, drinking the wine with a soft sigh, "I hope that it's a lesson for your failure to my expectations." He spoke sitting the glass on a table with the bottle.

"I'm sorry fath-" Avelessi was immediately cut off from the sentence with a hand smacking him across the face and knocking him to the floor.

"Of course you're sorry you rat! What makes you think you can come back to me and ask for anything after ruining our name!? And you dare ask me to call off the hit!" He sent his foot right after into Avelessi's stomach making him cough.

Avelessi struggled through the pain, tears now rolling from his eyes while moving to reach out, "P-please... Listen... We don't have to live this life. Mother and I have talked... We have options...!"

Avelessi was assaulted with another kick and a stomp onto his hand, "You had all the options you needed you ungrateful punk!"

The door suddenly being pounded over and over, before bursting open with a woman crying. A very beautiful younger looking with short strawberry blonde woman wearing a long dress baring their family crest. "Stop! Stop hurting him!" The woman kneeled beside Avelessi covering him with her body and attempting to push off Ulysses' leg.

"Tsk! You bitch! This is your fault! You made that little runt weak by babying him over and over!" With a scowl, his leg move and kicked her over on the side of Avelessi making her burst into tears again, Avelessi rushing to hold her.

"Father, please! You've been drinking, I know you're angry... If I may beg pardon. Just listen to us...! Mother doesn't want to live this life anymore...! Why won't you do this for your family!?" Avelessi's mother also moved from the floor holding her bruised cheek staring up at him.

"You disappoint me, Darla... You've failed as a wife and a mother. You have a nice home, an easy life, all the protection you could ask for and that wonderful ability. You've failed me too, Son. No. Not anymore. Guards! Take him away!" Soon three of Ulysses' guards grabbed Avelessi and began to force him off the ground and away from his mother's fighting grasp.

"No! Mother! Eminem!" As soon as he summoned his Stand and attacked one of the guards, he was knocked over by another kick to the jaw by his father which weakened him, even more, making him delirious from his current healing wounds and the previous attack, Eminem soon disappearing.

"My boy! Please don't take away my boy! I beg you!" Darla crawled over to Ulysses' leg and cried clenching onto his pants. "Please don't do this to me! I've lost my husband! I can't lose my son!"

Not too long after Avelessi had been thrown to the outside of the home and slowly regaining his composure but barely as he shakily walked up to the closing date. "Wait! Let me in! LET ME IN!"

"I'm sorry Master Avelessi. You've been banished from this home. If you come past this gate with your ability. You will be shot." The guard said standing close with a pistol in hand, which frightened Avelessi as he quickly turned away with his fists clenched tightly making his nails dig in and bleed. He rushed around the house outside of the range of the gate to his father's study window.

Upon turning the corner, the window was coated by long curtains but the fireplace showed dancing silhouettes in the room. All he could see within the shades was Darla and Ulysses arguing once again, his mother was struck once again and hit the floor with his father seems to scream his head off once again, but this time he wasn't finished.

Avelessi's eyes widened as the shadows on the curtain turned to Ulysses pulling out a gun, seeming out of nowhere and fired multiple times in the direction Darla fell.

Dropping to his knees Avelessi let out a deafening whale of pure pain and sorrow, slamming his fists into the ground in tears.

~ FLASHBACK END ~

Everyone in the room remained quiet once again, even Kiba the one who's usually cracking the darkest of jokes. Johanne looked down at him in disbelief, the break in his voice, his body language. Avelessi was telling the truth.

Stepping forward, his hand fell onto Avelessi's shoulder and gripped it tightly for a moment, "Listen. We'll need everything you know about your father. He's a very vital piece in figuring out this town out."

Avelessi stepped forward and brushed the tears from his eyes, "I'm sorry! For what I said before. Losing everything in a moment, your pride and everything you stood for, your whole family. It taught me so much. My father called me a failure for believing what we did for a living was wrong. Your resolve was so much stronger than mine. I'll accept your feelings Johanne and help you!"

This brought a grin to Johanne's face, after a snicker when he moved to pat him on the back then took a seat, "What does your father do?"

"Politics. He's a treasurer for one of the individuals in the recent race for the Mayor of this city. I overheard him many times talking about having to a lot of dirty things to rig the race. But he never said a name. He made a lot of money for him though from running the city's firearms manufacture and steel mill."

Edward leaned forward in his seat and spoke out in surprise, "I was wondering who that was. Your father seemed important, I'd stolen some files from a suitcase about him pushing votes towards his candidate during a meeting I had with him and the others in my division. He confirmed in the files that whoever He was working for was going to win definitely. And we had so much leeway for this candidate that he won without a single public appearance because of how much more money they possessed. "

Kiba chimed in from his silence, "My uncle had decided to run as well. He didn't stand a chance because he wanted to use the money to reform the school system for the poor and shift the flow in money in the city. Johanne's Dad was his campaign manager."

Johanne nodded in agreement, adding in with a sigh, "So we need to find a way to get back at Avelessi's father for what he did and question him for information. Because Jotaro and I came up with a plan to draw out the big man. The man who recruited you, Edward."

Edward broke his cool for a moment, raining into a bit of a sweat and turning to Johanne, "My word. You're an insane kid. Just being around that man makes my skin crawl. And you want to tango with him. It seems I've certainly picked a hell of a side to fight on. But what's your strategy?"

Johanne stood up and rubbed his head, "What's a better way to take down a large building or structure? You take out its foundation and watch it crumble. I'm sure we could just do a little research and have the Speedwagon Foundation track him down. Because I'm certain a new Mayor of the city wouldn't be that hard regardless of the scale of the city or the powers within it. But if we don't take the time to break him down, one of his men will continue his work and we won't get anywhere. If we take out his sources, I'm sure we'll draw him out to us or make the people rebel against him for all the issues past what's already hellishly wrong. Addition to that, I'm sure our people will get a rise from this and join the fight! Mr. Jotaro was rather impressed that I'd come up with it. Are you guys still in?"

Kiba shrugged his shoulders with a smirk, "Not like I've got much better to do than scam a chump or two. Why the hell not?"

Edward took a deep breath and nodded to Johanne, "In the long years I've carried the name Dungeon Master, they'll know me as a hero."

Avelessi stepped forward holding his finger up, "I recommend we celebrate this union and plan with a trip to the Museum! I want to show you all my gratitude and have you learn a little about me… So I'm not the only stranger. What do you say?"

Everyone looked over at him in disbelief, his mood had changed rather rapidly and that was concerning but Johanne shrugged it off. "I mean... I suppose. Edward, you coming?"

"Alas, my friends. I'm finishing my shift. I'll join you shortly." He placed his apron back on and walked out to the back of the counter.

"Shall we go then, gentlemen?" Avelessi said with a wide smile and motioned the boys to follow. Johanne and Kiba looked at one another giving a shrug and followed close.

Sometime later...

After a trip across town on the bus, Avelessi was rambling to them some of his younger activities.

"I'm telling you Johanne you simply MUST try horseback riding! It's truly fantastic. Of course, once the government storms our cities it'll be our only means of transportation as they'll shut down the cars for us." Avelessi snickered to himself walking them into the large marble pillared building.

Johanne stared silently while Kiba texted on his phone, shaking his head at the nonsense that Avelessi had been spouting the entire ride to the Museum. They entered the large building known as Bodou Display Centre greeted by a wonderful display of local art and donated pieces. "Usually I don't care to visit places in this side of town for... obvious reasons."

Avelessi heard him, hesitating to forward his advance of offering them candy, he sighed and walked slowly into the Prehistoric Exhibit. "Hmm. I used to love coming here when I was a child."

Johanne walked past Avelessi who stopped for a moment to reminisce on the very same T-Rex skeleton that was before him, an image of his mother and father with him flashing before his eyes. "It's wonderful isn't it Kiba?"

Kiba silently typing away at his phone, nodding almost entirely ignoring him, "Sure is buddy."

"Hmm. It's almost poetic. The missing piece inside when one loses something precious. It's heartbreaking and lonesome." A very familiar voice to Johanne could be heard behind him. The very same voice and the shape of a black figure behind Kiba and Avelessi, the very same from Edward's hidden room.

"Kiba! Avelessi! Look out!" Johanne tried his damnedest to warn them of the impending danger, but before they could react Avelessi was knocked across the room into an open display of a velociraptor skeleton. Kiba was soon grabbed by his neck and raised off the ground struggling to breathe.

"Avelessi! Let him go bastard!" Johanne quickly rushed over with M.C.R right behind him readying a furious punch.

"As you wish. I received what I needed anyway." The man quickly flung his wrist revealing a glowing black and red spiked gauntlet around his forearm that seemed to radiate a strong aura. Johanne stopped and fell over, the force of his friend being tossed caught him by surprise.

"You okay Kiba? Speak to me!" He shook his friend who quickly looked like he was losing consciousness, and gasped when he felt some blood pouring on his pants. "What the hell did you do to him!?"

The man stopped for a moment and pushed to the ground, quickly leaping up and landing on the large T-Rex exhibit that Avelessi was staring at, "I simply borrowed some marrow from him. Nothing to be alarmed about, you'll be a bloody mess with him in no time. Before the power of my Stand, Five Finger Death Punch, you'll all learn from your mistakes. Starting with you Johanne." He said as the gauntlet that was emitting that bright aura enveloped the large T-Rex very slowly, dust falling off its bones slowly as the ground began to shake uncontrollably. Avelessi held his still broken arm in pain slowly pushed himself off but stopped in shock at the sight before him.

Johanne stepped back with Avelessi, "Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me..." Both of them were taken by the sudden appearance of the giant skeleton walking off the pedestal and towards them slowly. "Avelessi..."

"R-right...! This is no time to be scared... No time to be shaken. Eminem!" He called out to his Stand, appearing behind him with its cane twirled out. The same with Johanne's M.C.R beside him hunching its back over ready to attack, both of them taking their signature poses before the walking prehistoric undead beast.


	6. Chapter 6: FFDP! Killer Kaito

Back to our young fighters next devious encounter, Avelessi and Johanne stood their grounds in the middle of the Prehistoric Exhibit they stood before their new opponent, his revived creature staring them down its rickety bones shaking off crumbs of bone and dust before letting out a menacing yet faint roar.

"Are you prepared to have your little journey end? It was foolish, to begin with. Once I'm done with you all. I'm going after that traitor Edward." The individual mounting the T-Rex skeleton said as his gauntlet seemed to glow brighter.

Johanne pushed his arm forward from his pose and scoffed at the man's statement, "You're talking a lot of shit for someone who sneak-attacked us and about to get his ass kicked."

Avelessi joined forward with a groan from his beaten body, "What do you want with us? Are you with my father!?" Fury grew in his voice, praying silently his suspicion was incorrect.

"These comments and questions hold no interest to me. Only finishing this job. You're a problem. All of you." From the glow of his gauntlet, some of it formed into a white sludge like state and eventually took shape into three large white tribal daggers. These were familiar to Johanne as he quickly readied himself.

The man tossed the daggers towards them, "Avelessi! Don't let them-" Before he could finish, Avelessi called. "Eminem!" Quickly tossing from his strap on his arm, three pieces of candy, the same PEZ as before was passed to his Stand that flung them with the cane within the air and matched the knives before they reached too close and exploded the knives in a colorful burst.

Johanne was shocked at Avelessi's reaction, taking a moment he could see determination within his face, he wasn't going to be stopped. Johanne steeled his resolve, glaring up at the man who wasn't phased by his attack being stopped.

"So be it then." With a snap, the skeleton seemed to have reacted to the Stand and turned around quickly sweeping it's long tail, breaking some of the floors as it went to attack them. Johanne grabbed Avelessi's jacket with M.C.R's hand and both of them jumped up with a Stand leap, barely missing the swing but being knocked around from the force then catching their balance on the tail.

"Follow my lead!" Johanne ordered quickly, dropping Avelessi behind him on the tail of the skeleton running up to try and meet their attacker.

"Right behind you!" He agreed to the order, quickly retrieving two sticks of pocky from his strap and tossed them with his Stand's arm turning them into micro-rockets as they came crashing down at the man.

He quickly reacted to the attack, bouncing off the skeleton and using more of the white sludge to make a long patterned spine with a hook on the end, swinging around a full circle on the chest of the T-Rex coming around and sending a high-velocity kick at Johanne.

Alarmed by the speed, Johanne guarded the kick the best he could but the force felt odd, as he was quickly knocked off the side, 'H-holy shit..! This can't be a normal ninja!'

"You got sloppy! Now bleed!" He advanced his attack using the momentum to fling another dagger at Johanne thinking he would still be falling but to his surprise, the dagger bounced off the air and flew off while M.C.R came darting at him. 'But how are they here...? It can't be, Is he...?' The man took a few moments to examine the situation before he was punched by M.C.R, to see Johanne seemingly floating while taking a spin in the air from the punch.

"Hmph! Didn't see that one coming did ya? I picked up a little trick. I figured you watched my fight with Edward. But you don't know all I have up my sleeves!" M.C.R's leg appeared next to Johanne's and used another Stand leap to press off a platform of solid air to another around the man then another in rapid succession until he kicking him over towards Avelessi. "Look sharp buddy!"

Avelessi quickly took notice and tried to follow up the attack swinging his arm down calling for Eminem's cane to strike but was greeted with a clothesline to the jaw. Being knocked off the tail and heading to the ground but smirking as a flicker of light came from the man's feet and was suddenly engulfed in firework blast only hearing a scream from the tail.

Johanne nodded and grinned at the counter-attack and used whatever time he had to launch himself towards the ground and catch Avelessi, smacking his back against the floor in a tumble. "Aaaand that's gonna hurt in the morning. Fuck. You doin' alright there bud?"

Avelessi caught his breath and brushed the blood from his mouth, shaking slightly like before in the music store, his mouth tasted of iron and fear filled him. "I-I'm okay... I'm trying to keep up with you."

"You're doing fine Avelessi. Just don't let your guard down. He's not a newbie at this. His attacks are targeted to kill us." Johanne said, helping them both off the ground, watching the man drop a good distance away to catch his breath.

"H-how are you so strong Johanne...? Just like when you beat me. You adapt so well... You took on your Stand so fast... You took his attack and turned it on his head. How!?" Avelessi sounded like he was close to breaking into tears as he stared at the blood, confusion clouding his mind until he felt Johanne's hand on his shoulder.

"Avelessi. I told you, I tell everyone I plan to make a difference in this place I've grown up in. I can't let my guard down, never have and never will. When you grow up in the streets, fighting to make ends meet or scared someone in a worse place will stop at nothing to take whatever you have left. You have to make quick choices to take your path, without a moment of doubt. Your resolve needs to be hardened so you'll never be knocked over! This town kept us down long enough and I'll be damned if I stop now!" Johanne said smirking at his friend. Avelessi's tears flowed surely, but they weren't sad. He was proud to stand with Johanne.

"A difference... You'll make this difference now. Who else has tried and failed? Who has that power and sits with it? No one cares. No one truly plans to make this end. So I'll pave that path in blood... This suffering will end by my hand!" The man said forming another knife from his Stand, quickly flicking his wrist to launch it and motioning the large skeleton to strike by raising his hand. It slowly turned around to lock its massive jaws on them.

"Well said Johanne! Let him know you've got what it takes to make that a reality! RROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLL!" Suddenly at piercing speeds a six-sided die glowing brightly made collision with the knife at the tip making it spin off the track and hit the ground, alongside it the face of a shining number, "9! A fitting number!" As the ring of light wrapped around the man's arm and the large seal on the ground appeared below the Rex skeleton as it closed in to bite the boys. Out of the circle popped a large pair of black jaws very similar to its own, as a living T-Rex pushed its way out of the circle and picking up the bone T-Rex and slamming it to the ground upon fully forming, roaring out.

Several people within the exhibit who happened to come across the scrap yelled and panic in fear, Edward's summonings were clearly visible to normal humans and the sight of the two dinosaurs shocked some causing a mass evacuation.

Johanne and Avelessi's mouths dropped in disbelief, "My dude you are really kidding me..." Johanne said very shocked.

"I'm afraid not my boy. Megumi let me leave a little early. She was worried you would get in trouble. She sends her regards." Edward said walking past the boys, no longer in his work uniform. His long tattered coat flowing behind him as he fixed a pair of gloves.

Johanne snickered to himself, looking down at the floor for a moment. "Avelessi. Please tend to Kiba. You're both injured." Johanne pushed off the ground and dusted his pants. Edward spaced his stance, his book close to his chest glowing and his hand reached out as if dropping a dice. Johanne spaced his stance, M.C.R appearing behind him his arms crossed over his chest and hands flared out. "Shall we, Edward!?"

"Right away Johanne!" Edward's wrist flipped into a snap, commanding his summoning to continue with slamming its tail into the body of the bone Rex, only for it to wail in pain but roar in advance. "What the hell is that thing?"

The bone Rex slowly rose its jaws to bite a chunk out of Edward's summoning, "Five Finger Death Punch is in control. I can make bones under my will as strong as steel no matter how old they are. It costs me a lot more calcium and marrow from the reserve than I'd like. But if it means getting rid of you." More of the white sludge poured from the gauntlet but twisted into a long shape eventually turning into a long white spear and charging both of them.

"Johanne!" Edward called out quickly, his extended hand reached into the jacket pulling out one of his large knives. "Right! Coming!" Johanne ducked down and sprung forward to meet the attack. The man used the spear as a pole to jab into the ground and vault himself over Johanne and swiftly twirl to gash his back and within the rotation fling the spear at Edward who sidestepped it with ease.

Johanne groaned in pain, pushing past it, "M.C.R!" His Stand reached out just barely catching the man's leg and tossing him to the ground beside Johanne making him groan in pain. Johanne took that time to quickly jump over him, holding his knee to his arm and punching him several times, "You assassins don't under how we do things in the streets! Stand or not!"

Edward stood back watching the two beasts fight. The one he summoned seemed to move a lot more fluidly and was attacking regardless of the strength, knowing it over along with several exhibits within the area. Once it was crashed down again, the T-Rex bit into the bone again finally cracking it while Johanne relentlessly punched the man.

"Attacking him is weakening his Stand's effects. This is our chance- Huh!?" Edward stepped back noticing a large blue flare of energy take shape around the jaws of the battered bone Rex and fire a large blue beam through Edward's Rex's throat causing him to hold his chest and cough blood, "My stronger summonings do a lot more damage to me... But that didn't feel natural!"

"Take that asshole!" Johanne was about to send the last blow with M.C.R's arm to knock him out but stopped suddenly, "W-what the fuck...?" He stopped for a moment, feeling a small hole in his chest and shoulder spill blood and fell over holding the wound.

Panting heavily, the man looked over at Johanne dizzily, "Y-you got arrogant... Cocky. Five Finger Death Punch has a trump card. It drains me a lot to use. I can concentrate the energy in the gaunt..let..." He said as the same blue light disappeared from the fingertips, "You hit me hard... My head isn't well. I missed the vital organs. But you'll feel that long enough for me to finish you." Another spear was slowly forming within the gauntlet as he crawled over to Johanne and rose the spear over his body.

"Johanne!" Edward and Avelessi called out, Edward pushing past his pained state to reach and stop the attack.

"You won't stop my path for the Itsuki Family name! You and your pathetic ambitions!" He felt the spear being stopped but still pushing in small amounts, Johanne was holding it with his hand and his Stand's very weakly.

"W-what makes my dream so pathetic...!? Do you know how it feels to suffer so much that you fear that you'll live to see the next day!? This fight I have now comes from all these years of living in the dirt and crawling out the next day with my father! I won't die to you...! My dream won't die here!" Johanne's hand sprayed blood the tighter it squeezed the blade of the spear.

"What do you know of suffering!? The Itsuki Family was robbed! My father and I lived within the same combines of that part of lower Bodou! He worked for years to make his company a reality to have it all robbed in an instant! You get nothing sitting around and making speeches! Blood must shed! Money must form from that blood! My father worked himself to death to make his dream a reality just for one worm with too much time and money on his hands to pull the rug from under his feet and take everything he had! On his deathbed, He asked me to carry this burden and make our family great! The very same worm that's controlling this place took my father's livelihood! He forced him to work until his dying breath because he sucked his business dry! He saw him succeed and kicked him to the dirt! For his own goals! I'll be the one to end this my way."

He seemed much more unstable, Johanne locked eyes with him and could see the cold in his stare was buried in pain. Until Edward walked up and grabbed the end of the spear.

"Kaito Itsuki. The legendary killer. Son of Tohma Itsuki. Owner of Itsuki Pharmaceuticals. He was sick, struggling to find a cure or time for treatment but worked himself to death for the sake of himself and his son. That's what I read in the files I managed to get on our team when looking into our boss. We aren't bound to that fate, Kaito. I'm sure you had that same malice the night you acquired that Stand with me. I don't know much more on the others. But we have a chance... We don't have to fight here. Listen to us." Edward spoke in soft panting words, putting his knife away.

Johanne reached out and placed his fist that was painted in blood against Kaito's chest, "Kaito. I believe in you. And I need you to believe in me. I felt how much heart you put into your strikes. You're hurting. I am. Our people are. Edward saw that our cause is just. You don't have to bear that burden alone. That spear in your hand is your way to carve your future. Use it the right way."

Avelessi soon limped over and took a place on the spear, holding it and spoke with tears in his eyes, "K-Kaito...! My father works for him as well... He took my mother, my whole world away from me. My father is nothing but a spawn on his evil intent, drowned in lies and false hope. I'll take my father down. And I'll be there to help push your spear into that demon's heart. Please!"

Kaito stared around at them all, speechless at the very scene and palms were shaking with the spear in hand. "B-but... You... What if you fail!? Where will I-" He was cut off by Johanne thrusting his fist lightly into his chest.

"I won't fail. I give you my word. Before they took this place over fully. I know they've done nothing but sow the seeds of this city's bleeding people and made them suffer. Since I was a boy I watched this city fall apart little by little. I'm done watching. Aren't you?"

Kaito looked down, his black glossy hair coating his face, his other hand moving to remove the mask from his mouth, panting heavily and feeling Johanne's hand unfold and fall over his heart. "This overwhelming feeling... It's the opposite of that man. You... Johanne Kamijou... I concede."

He let go of the spear slowly and relinquished it to the three, moving to take Johanne's hand and pull him from the ground. "From that place on the ground, you're an angel bathed in blood. Pure but washed in your sin for your people to see."

"Yeah well, that blood wash doesn't come out of my hair so easily." He quickly stumbled and turned to the corner and started to limp over to Kiba, "Sh-shit! We need to get him to Jotaro...!" He was stopped by Avelessi and Kaito holding him up and Edward walking over to toss Kiba over his shoulder.

"Sheesh, put him to sleep." Johanne sighed with a pained laugh, turning to Kaito who only stared. "No laugh? Nothing? Not even a giggle? Okay. We can work on that. Emotions running strong."

"I brought a car outside, we can set them in the back. We might want to leave very soon. The police will be here soon." Edward quickly motioned them to the very back of the museum.

Meanwhile, at the Kamijou Residence, there had been a special tent set up in the backyard that Edward noticed in the back upon arrival, immediately motioning Kaito to help take them back.

Jotaro approached from the back putting down a cell phone seeing almost everyone but Edward a bloody mess, "Yare yare... You're always coming back beaten up kid. You remind me of me when I was in your shoes. Bring them to the back, I suppose this is a good enough time to reveal my surprise. I see you also have another friend."

Edward and Kaito looked around to one another, then saw Johanne limping back slowly with Kiba and was quickly assisted by the rest. Upon entering the tent Johanne's eyes sprang open as he saw a rather large man standing on his hand perfectly within a zen meditation position and coated in brownish-yellow clothes and crazy sprawled out gray hair. "Greetings young ones. Peace be with you."

"Mr. Jotaro who the hell is that street performer Gandhi and why is he here?"

Jotaro tipped his hat, shaking his head and turned to Johanne, "Show some respect. This is a very important man. He's an acquaintance of the Foundation. His name is Metok Lobsang. He's a Tibetan Monk come down from the Mountains to assist us. I had informed him of our issues with medical treatment. Thankfully, He decided to help us."

Johanne tilted his head but groaned instantly and spoke out, "How's a Monk from the mountains supposed to help? Does he have special medicine or something?"

Jotaro smirked underneath his hat and pointed to Johanne, "Metok. Show him your stuff."

Metok pushed from the ground, almost floating in the air and gracefully landed in front of Johanne which made him freak out, "As you wish, Senior Kujoh!" Suddenly the air great tense around Johanne and Metok, there was a whistle to the man, upon listening close the man was breathing but it wasn't normal, it was amazingly fluid like a babbling brook with a never-ending stream of life within it. Next came a crackling sound around Metok, who waved his arms around in a weaving motion, the breathing intensified while he shoved his hands into Johanne's chest making him cough forward but instantly went silent.

Johanne's body jolted instantly feeling his entire being surge with life, the wounds he used his Stand to shut on the spot to ease the bleeding slowly shut themselves for the body to heal naturally. He breathed with the man, feeling more relaxed than he ever has in his life, "W-what the hell was that...? What did he do to me?"

Jotaro stepped forward once again, "My grandpa used to tell me about the amazing power that he possessed and used to battle a great threat before. A unique ability to humans that comes from discipline and training never seen before. Hamon Breathing!"

Metok chimed in, "It's an art passed down from ancient martial arts to fight off ailment and those beyond man's nightmare. We recovered the studies in my childhood after discovering I had the talent for Hamon and passed it on to those willing within the Mountain. Since then I've become a Master and help those in need. I heard of your noble quest Young Kamijou and lend you my aid. My next patient, please. Ah, you."

Avelessi say he was being pointed to by his broken arm, "A-ah! Beg pardon!? Excuse me good sir, but I can wait. Our friend here-"

"Non-sense. Only a moment." Metok spread his legs and tilted his back bending fully stretching his back out and flattening his fingers, jabbing one hand into Avelessi's ribs and the other into his broken arm. Avelessi experienced the same shocking sensation as Johanne, the comfort of life filling him like his mother's sweet embrace.

Avelessi was quickly snapped out by Metok removing his hands, setting his candy sack down from his strap and untieing his arm rolling it around, "My word! It feels like brand new! Many thanks, good sir, this is a heavenly art!"

Metok smiled and simply bowed his head, tabbing fingers on Avelessi's head, "A very youthful spirit to you. The life energy touched you. Keep that spirit. Next, you-"

"I'll pass. Take care of him." Kaito referred to Kiba who was lying on the bed, still unconscious while he turned to leave the tent. Edward followed soon behind, bowing to thank the man.

"Kaito. Where are you going?" He stopped Kaito with a hand on his shoulder, his body was quivering and his fists were tight.

"We were assigned to kill them all. Yet here we are, at the brink of traitor status, are we really going to abandon this organization to follow the dream of a child and their ragtag group?" Kaito said turning his head ever so slightly, Edward could see in his eyes that the thought of crossing the boss was bone chilling.

"You already know I'm going to do everything within my power to protect these children. That includes giving them a better life. That starts with shifting this power struggle so something can be done. We were attack dogs, nothing more than tools. He wasn't going to give us more than an order. Truthfully, I needed the money at first but it's not enough. I stocked enough to feed the children and keep them happy, I visit them frequently and plan to rebuild the orphanage we were staying in. With the Speedwagon Foundation, they have medicine and clothing. That's enough for me. But, that man needs to go so we can live lives outside the shadows. Who knows, I'm sure with this going through, you'll be able to restore your family's business."

Kaito's shaking slowly subsided, brushing Edward's hand off. "I have strong connections for intel on operations and the cash flow within the bosses' roots. I know who we need to go after. Just as he sent me after you all. He wants me to keep them on the chopping block in case anyone gets out of line. I'll keep in touch."

Soon after Kaito hopped on the fence and running along into another couple of yards outside of sight. Edward sighed softly rubbing his chest and returning to the tent for treatment.


	7. Chapter 7: To the Races we go Pt 1

Due to the circumstances of their betrayal and their need for a directive, the group had to do their best to lay low for some time with the assistance of Edward and Kaito's influence over the streets. Around a month had passed since they added Kaito to their group and his transition had been rather rough while maintaining whatever work he could for Johanne's goal.

Johanne, Kiba, and Jotaro had been sitting around a table within Johanne's house in the middle of the day, looking around several files on the table.

"We have leads but they aren't anything good enough. Just financial reports and building construction plans within the city. More money that's taken from our side of the town to fund bullshit. But not a solid place to start." Johanne tossed the folder onto the table and sighed.

Jotaro continued to mark down several pieces on another sheet, "And these pictures taken by Kaito. We've got an idea where the arrow might be. But it's getting passed around between hands, they're all different guys in each of these photos. They're creating subordinates."

"This ain't getting us anywhere, how are we supposed to-" Kiba chimed in being cut off by a chilling voice behind him.

"I may have exactly what you need." As sudden as a falling leaf, Kaito appeared behind Kiba which made Johanne and Kiba jump out of their chairs.

"What the hell man!? Don't you know how to use a door!?" Kiba said holding his chest and sighing.

Jotaro's attention was on the television listening to the news, "Eyewitnesses say they still can't exactly pinpoint the culprits for all the damages to the exhibits. The price for all the damages is in the unimaginable numbers! We have one of the museum employees here who recently came back from vacation, Sir how do you feel about having to clean up this mess?" The employee simply looked at the reporter and the camera for a moment and spoke in a disapproving tone, "Man, fuck this. I'm going back to Italy." The reporter shocked, "And there you have it, folks."

Jotaro simply sat back with a sigh, shaking his head knowing exactly what went down at that museum. "If it wasn't for Kaito getting that security footage, we'd be in deep shit." Jotaro simply muttered to himself under his breath.

"Hmm. The window was open. I thought I would let myself in." Kaito said removing the scarf mask covering his face. "I brought some valuable information. The boss' next big project, strangely enough, you may have heard of it. It's on the far east side of Upper Bodou with construction-" With a sudden burst of noise, the t.v. caught everyone's attention.

"Good day Bodou City! Your local D.J. and gossip lead, Hideo Trax!, has brought to you a wonderful announcement! A brand new Grand Opening! Our loving Mayor has funded a new race track in the outer rim of the city. Fan of going fast!? Want to smell the exhilarating scent of burning tires!? Does Eurobeat rattle your soul!? Come on down to the Grand Opening of Bodou Nightz! Meet a fantastic line-up of foreign and local dri-" Jotaro had clicked the t.v. off after he'd heard enough.

"Yare yare... His voice was starting to piss me off. I suppose that's one way we can go about this. It's brand new, another cash grab for sure." Jotaro added taking a sip of iced tea.

Johanne recovered himself from the floor with a smirk, "This is actually kind of perfect. I need to keep getting his attention. He knows my name, and I'm sure he knows what extent I'll go to. Now, we begin our assault!" Johanne slammed his hand on the table confidently with a nod.

"Oh yeah! I'm ready to raise some hell!" Kiba added twirling a lollipop he had in his hand getting ready to stand up; until a hand was placed in front of him.

"Kiba... To be honest, I'll feel safer with you sitting out on this one. After that incident with Kaito, I have no idea what they might do just to get to me. Protecting you and fighting gets a little-" Johanne didn't want these words to come out, it showed within his face but he needed to.

Kiba grew quiet for a moment, gritting his teeth and crunching the lollipop before knocking away Johanne's hand, "Whatever man. I'll be raiding your fridge."

Johanne noticed this behavioral shift and sighed, reaching out to playfully slug his arm and smile, "Don't be that way bud. Besides, I have a few things I need from Edward. If you don't mind, I'd like for you to get them. If we have all their attention at the track, you're basically incognito."

Kiba turned back with a slant in his lips and bumped Johanne's fist, "Sheesh, errand boy. Who would've thought? I got it."

Johanne's smile grew with their connection maintained and thoughts cleared, he made his way out. "Alright. The place is supposed to open tomorrow from what that commercial said and I think there's no better way to fuck something up than the Grand Opening."

Upon opening his backdoor, his eyes widened in disbelief. Avelessi and Metok were both in the far end of Johanne's backyard and beside the tent. Avelessi was standing over a pond He and Metok built in the backyard, with his usual attire not so suited up but still to his liking but much more casual with shorter sleeves and shorts on. He was standing on one leg with multiple glasses of water balanced on his arm. He seemed to be mimicking the same breathing that Metok had used on him in their meeting almost a month ago.

Metok turned his back and quickly performed several springy backflips over to Johanne until stopping with his hands together in front of him, "Ah! Young Kamijou. I welcome you once again, but I must ask you not to interrupt Young Barlem's lesson. He has shown much promise."

Avelessi's breathing grew as he shifted his position to widen his stance, three of the cups of water remained still as a rock, only one of them shaking fully.

"I'll be damned. Didn't expect him to like that stuff that much. Ham Breeding was it?" Johanne scratched his head, which earned him a chop to the forehead by Metok.

"Hamon Breathing, Young Kamijou. Avelessi's heart is deep and full of love. Determination and potential. He has shared his tale to me. I can see where it comes from. All that pain is going to shape his will, and still his breathing." Metok turned to his pupil with a proud smile.

"Hmm. I'll leave you guys me then. Tell Avelessi to be ready for tomorrow. We're moving out to advance our plan." He said turning around to walk but was stopped by Metok.

His grip felt different, it was as if an omen swept between them as Metok spoke in a looming tone, "I can tell where your resolve does not waver and your intentions are true. But do not forget Young Kamijou. This is a dark, dark path you are running down. Filled with dangers the likes you've yet to experience. You are taking the world on your shoulders, along with the hopes of your friends. I have told Avelessi this and given him Hamon training enough for him to produce and release basic techniques. He has steeled his resolve with revenge in his heart. It fuels his determination. Someone must have a clear head in the end, when facing this dangerous man. Are you prepared to shoulder this weight, Young one?"

They both grew silent for a moment, they felt the depths of those words and that he was saying that everyone could easily lose their lives in this pursuit. "I understand this. There isn't a point to having a life if you can't live in happily. The way you want to. And I don't want to be worked into the dirt under someone else's boot. By force. I'm prepared Metok."

Metok remained silent, Johanne's words stung like vipers and wounded his heart from the pain they bared. He only nodded and returned to Avelessi who was now standing on one finger, managing a minor ripple in the water.

Johanne peaked over his shoulder watching Avelessi and Metok, before tucking his hands back into his jacket pockets and returning to his house.

The next day...

Johanne and Avelessi were walking down the street casually strolling through Upper Bodou, as usual, the civilians of the district gave Johanne dirty looks but Avelessi being as well-dressed as he is left them confused as to why he bothered being with Johanne.

"This sure does feel strange. I don't mean to attract this sort of, attention to us..." Avelessi spoke quickly while rummaging through his large sack of candy, pulling out some chocolate.

"Don't bother me a bit, my friend. I've gotten used to it. You will too eventually." Johanne said strolling along with his hands behind his head.

"Well, I don't regret this decision. You've been a kind friend to me!" He stuck his hand out offering a lollipop, smiling brightly.

Johanne took it, slipping it into a jacket pocket and looking into his phone's screen pointing down the street, "This way. That huge stadium over there. Huh. I can't believe I hadn't noticed this before."

Both of them gazed down the street, there was an entire huge building made of brick and glass, 'Bodou Tandem Trax!' was written on the sign, an entire crowd was whipped around the edges of the building, excitedly entering one by one as the boys approached.

"Man, this ain't gonna be easy. I didn't expect all this. " Johanne said peaking back down at his phone with a sigh, "Huh. It seems they modeled the design similar to the Daytona International Speedway. But with much more intricacy for drifting fans. You know if we didn't come to screw this place up, I'd say let's catch a show."

Avelessi stopped Johanne at the sight of the crowd, pointing out how long it was and how many people, "Oh my, we'll never get in."

Johanne raised an eyebrow down at Avelessi, shaking his disappointment. "You know man, that rich boy life has really gotten you nowhere. Follow me, we're sneaking in. I hope that Hamon training has gotten you as fit as it looks. We gotta be quick!" Johanne motioned Avelessi around the crowd, looking at several stocking trucks coming in around the back.

"A-ah! Mother's always taught me not to do these things. They'll make me a hooligan. So, I'm rather inexperienced. Or maybe that's what they want us to think... brainwashed into playing nice. Preposterous..."

"Avelessi. Chill out bud." He snickered under his breath and pressed against the wall within the confines of the crowd, his hand waving Avelessi to do the same.

"Alright! Alright! Get those boxes moving~ We have to get the people what they want baby!" A loud voice seemed to draw the crowd of workers, the man in charge. Johanne took advantage of this, moving to the edge of a chain fence and using M.C.R to liquify some of the links. The boys high-fived one another and hurried behind several boxes.

"Holy crap, after all these months of working on this and we still gotta bust our ass. When did the other crew get off?" Another voice was heard coming from the area they just entered. The boys panicked and looked around, feeling the workers closing in.

"Huh? The hell happened to this fence!? Have the boys take a look at it." The man turned around walking to the area they were in, Johanne sweating profusely as the man got closer and closer. Avelessi slowly pulled a piece of candy from the bag until he was tapped on the shoulder by Johanne.

"I could have sworn I saw something moving around here." After coming closer and examining the shadows around the boxes only to see a couple of piece of wood on the ground. "We got rats or somethin'? Ah, forget about it."

The man walked away slowly, going back to barking orders at the other men. Out of the rumbling of one of the boxes, Johanne slowly pushed on the openings to the crate from inside with his hand covering Avelessi's mouth. They proceeded with their mission sneaking into the storage, grabbing a map off the table next to large entrance.

Once they were out of sight of the other workers, Johanne and Avelessi made their way to a storage closet and opened the map using his phone as a light. "Alright, so our plan is to sabotage the cars and get access to the security system. Jotaro said as long as we can secure clean ways in, Edward and Kaito can get in easily. And we can possibly get some footage on the boss coming through here. From what Edward mentioned, He has a habit of making these low profile visits to his facilities. We need to make our way here, and you'll set your candy up Avelessi. What was the range of Eminem's detonation?"

"20 meters. I can set off any piece or group 20 meters away as long as they aren't moved." He nodded holding up the large sack, which earned a nod from Johanne.

"Let's move then, this should be ea- WOAH!" As soon as Johanne began to open the door his shirt was grabbed and he was slammed against the wall, "O-oh fuck..."

"Well little dude, you've made it pretty far with that plan. It would be a shame if you got your ass kicked before you could pull it off. You see these are my roads. Fuck the boss and his little god complex. All I care about is the screaming fans and the wind in my hair. Ya dig, you little punk!?" The man sent his knee into Johanne's stomach, causing him to cough.

"A-aye look, I'm sure we got ourselves a misunderstanding... We're just passing through." Johanne tried to work his lie up, glancing back at Avelessi.

"Hah! You think you'll pull one over on Kisuke Tsuchiya, the Drift Emperor like that!? Nice chance! Night kid!" He cocked fist back, quickly sending it forward to punch Johanne.

Avelessi got into position and called out, "Eminem!" As fast as possible, his Stand manifested its body and went to swing the cane it wielded at the back of the man's head only to be stopped suddenly.

"W-what the hell is that...? It stopped. It suddenly stopped... I don't know why..." Avelessi was shocked for a moment, feeling an unknown pressure around the man's head that made them both uneasy. Johanne could feel a chilling breeze around his throat, glancing at the man's piercing blue eyes past the sunglasses he wore. They spelled cockiness, murderous intent and victory.

"The boss did warn everyone about you... The brat that turned a few traitors loose. Sad day little dudes. You fucked with the wrong racer." After twirling his finger for a moment, causing a small current of wind to tunnel around his finger and travel up his hand. Johanne and Avelessi quickly found themselves levitating off the ground. "Take 'em for a ride! Nights of Fire!" Soon the boys bother collided together in the air and spun down the hallway into several walls in a long tunnel of rough wind.

"S-shit! I can't get a moment to focus! So much wind, I don't know where to have M.C.R grab!" Out of the eye of the tunnel, both of the boys smacked against one another tumbling to the ground groaning in pain.

"T-that was insane... Is he a Stand User!? I didn't even see him summon it!" Avelessi commented trying to pick himself off the ground.

Johanne brushed his lip, raising up to prepare for the fight as well. "Neither did I honestly. Be on your toes Avelessi, this one isn't a pushover. He doesn't seem okay with chatting this one out."

"Hah! That's the last thing I want to do knowing you brats plan to ruin my show. Get ready to get wiped against the pavement!" The wind beginning to collect around his arm once more, tearing at the wall.

"Take cover Avelessi!" Both of the boys took a dive in the opposite direction, a powerful wind blast burrowing into the floor and causing a large dust cloud. There was a pattern of loud footsteps coming from down the hallway as the man used a gust to blow the smoke and turn to look for Avelessi.

"Heeeere's Kisuke!" Raising his hand up again and channeling another gust, the prepared to throw the blast at the slumped over Avelessi.

"D-don't underestimate me...!" Avelessi commented, throwing a hand M&Ms at the man, who popped in the air in small innocent flashes that immediately startled him, making him stumble back.

"Oh, you're getting it now!" Quickly being cut off by some flashing at his feet, Kisuke looked down and tilted his head, "Chocolate? Why the hell-" The one he stepped on exploded in a colorful shimmer knocking him back some.

"Heads up asshole!" Following up the attack, shattering the smoke that he solidified temporarily to cover himself while hiding inside the fading cloud, M.C.R's muscular arm dashed through the smoke and smashed into Kisuke's face sending him barreling through a glass window that led to another room labeled 'Garage'.

"We're getting pretty damn good at this teamwork thing Avelessi." Johanne rolled his shoulder and groaned, his body feeling the effects of the wind they were blasted with. "C' mon we gotta make sure he's down and get started."

Avelessi got off the floor rubbing his back and sighing after the attack, taking a piece of candy from his sealed sack and popping a pocky into his mouth, "My word, He's so rude."

Both of them carefully edge their way past the window, the room being horribly dark and barely lit by some light coming from their hallway. Entering the doorway very cautiously they were greeted by utter silence as they crept into the room.

"Have you caught sight of him Johanne?" Avelessi questioned, his eyes darting through the darkness as they approached the area of the broken window.

Johanne muttered quietly, "Not a bit. He should be... around... here..." They approached a pile broken glass and some blood on the floor, only to see he wasn't there. Calling M.C.R immediately to have his Stand scan the darkness with him.

"Yoohooo! Shall I go now!?" The boys quickly turned their heads deeper into the garage to see that there were two bright flashing lights within the back and a strange sound coming from the light.

"D-do you hear that...? Isn't that an engine...? But why does it sound so strange? Like a whistle..." Avelessi grew nervous and slowly backed away from the lights. The sound grew within the depths of the garage.

"Asshole jumped into one of the cars? That shouldn't be too hard to deal with, right?" Johanne took some steps to the right of the garage trying to weave around some of the other machines covered in white tarps to catch the light.

"Hoohoo! How wrong you are! This is my speed demon!" The sound revved louder, rattling the very room they were in with the echoes of the motor. Before they could recover from the shaking sensation, a much large gust of wind carried through the garage ripping at some of the other cars and the sheets that coated them.

"OH NOT AGAIN! FUCK ME!" Johanne screamed being slammed into the wall making a large rack of tools fall over onto him, Avelessi was sent flying through the large garage door along with the wind it's making the entire thing fly off making it and Avelessi roll onto an asphalt road.

Immerging from the shadows of the garage in a leaping display was a huge cluster of wind, that whipped around the area Avelessi laid on the ground until it stopped around 7-meters away from him.

Out of the wind once it finally disbursed was a car, not just any but a racing car similar to some of the others in the garage, a 2006 Subaru WRX STi, to be specific. Its design was horribly distorted and had a sharper design almost like a metallic monster with its jaw wide open for attack, painted a dark purple and white with multiple decals with Kisuke's name and brands on it.

Coughing profusely, Avelessi's head was shaken in confusion and blood spat out his mouth from his lip, 'C-control your breathing... Control your breathing... What's that sound...?' Soon Avelessi's mind was brought back down to earth, he noticed that they were in the middle of the large race track that was built recently. The crowd was filling more and more with roaring fans.

Looking around the crowd then over to the middle of the track there was a helicopter in the middle and several people setting up microphones and cameras. "A-ah! Johanne!' Avelessi tried to calm himself, looking around the dark garage.

One of the crew members along the side quickly came to Kisuke's side and tapped on the window offering a microphone to him. Kisuke smirked with devious intent and lowered the window to take the microphone.

"Can you hear me Bodou City!? I have something pretty badass for you all to see! I found a few rats lurking around the building looking to stir up trouble! They're jealous of this good fortune and entertainment! This beautiful track and these fast cars! They planned to sabotage my wheels! What do you say we teach them a lesson!?" The crowd went crazy, booing at Avelessi who kneeled in recovery before the roaring monster of a machine.

"O-oh! Oh dear!" Avelessi panicked trying to get to his feet and make a run for it, only hearing the louder cheers and the engine.

As Kisuke began to slowly accelerate from the starting point, letting Avelessi get a good distance away, from the darkness of the garage, dashing past Kisuke's car was a motorcycle that curved alongside Avelessi and grabbed him onto the back of the bike stopping to face Kisuke.

"W-what the hell!? Who are you?" Avelessi panicked at suddenly being grabbed but stopped for a moment looking at the clothing and the long silver and blonde ponytail sticking out the edge of the cycle helmet, "Johanne!"

"In the flesh and blood! I got my ass handed to me back there, so I decided to lay low for a minute and come up with a plan. That guy's Stand is that car!" Johanne said peering past the helmet and locking eyes with Kisuke who was revving his engine once more.

"H-how are we going to deal with that!? Why are we on a motorcycle!?" Avelessi looked around at the still booing crowd and back to Kisuke.

"We're going to play a little cat and mouse with this guy's pride. He's going to feel awfully shitty being beaten at his own game by a couple of brats on a stolen motorcycle." Johanne pushed the brake off and accelerated into a wheelie coming straight at Kisuke.

'This little street rat's got a lot of nerve!' Kisuke accelerated as well, watching the wind very slowly collect around the car but before it fully could Johanne was already in front of him and driving up to the front. Kisuke saw Johanne stick his arm out to raise his middle finger and drive over the hood, using his M.C.R's leg and smashing the hood of the car to launch them over Nights of Fire making Kisuke groan in pain. "Now you've fuckin' done it!"

Johanne continued his short flight in the air, Avelessi screaming from how high they were launched and slamming to the ground clinging hard to Johanne's back. "Y-you're a madman!"

Johanne peaked over his shoulder watching Kisuke quickly whip Nights of Fire around the position it remained in and begin his pursuit of the boys around the track, "Yeah I know. Give me a little bit while I think this out. Hang on tight!" Johanne pressed forward increasing his speed along the track, keeping an eye over his shoulder at the slowly growing cluster of wind behind them. The chase is on!


	8. Chapter 8: To the Races we go Pt 2

The roaring crowd and the sound of thundering engines filled the air within the stadium as our two heroes made their way around the large asphalt track. Blast after blast they were assaulted with gusts of the strong wind that crashed into the positions that Johanne just barely managed to avoid on the motorcycle.

Avelessi screamed at each oncoming blast, "L-left! Right! Oh dear!" He panicked as one flew beside his head when Johanne took a turn around a corner, making his friend snicker.

"You know man, you really need to get out more. I've been shot at before on one of these bikes when I took it for a joy ride." Johanne commented with pride, increasing his speed along the track turning his head to examine the arena around them.

"How do you even know how to drive a motorcycle!? Aren't you like 16!?" Avelessi turned as well watching the pattern of the winds around Nights of Fire while it followed closely behind them.

"17 actually. When you need a quick buck from a scumbag or two. You learn to hotwire cars and bikes to chopshop them. I've done some pretty bad shit in my days Avelessi I'll tell you that much." Turning another corner and leaning in examining something around the stands.

"Ah! Johanne he's still coming! We have to do something or else he's going to hit us eventually!" Avelessi clenched onto Johanne closing his eyes as another blast of wind crashed beside them.

"I noticed something. He might be guessing where we are Avelessi. He could probably be hitting us a lot more accurately but something isn't right. I'm going to test something. Hold on tight!" Johanne spoke clearly and loudly to him, increasing their speed again until they reached a turn that was facing a clear section of seats.

"W-what are you- Oh no. No no no no no! You aren't going to do what I think you are!?" Avelessi began to panic seeing them reach closer and closer to the barricade, "We're going to crash!"

"Not on my watch. M.C.R!" Johanne quickly summoned his Stand beside the bike and with a loud, 'NA!' smashed the ground hard enough with some stopping power from the brakes and launched them into the air and into the stands with a loud thrash of the bike as the accelerated up some of the stairs.

Avelessi held his chest shaking and breathing heavily, "C-controlled breathing...! Controlled breathing! What the hell was that!?"

Johanne watched as Nights of Fire approached the wall and saw it slam into the barricade, making the rushing winds around it explode into the side of the barricade.

"OH! And there goes Kisuke's car! Right into the wall after a shocking display from our mysterious sabotagers! How much more exciting can our Grand Opening be!? Let's revive our hero with a cheering crowd! Kisuke! Kisuke! Kisuke!" This voice came from the now launched helicopter moving around their location, casting the events. The crowd joined in the cheering for Kisuke to keep going chanting his name.

"You gotta be kidding me, man... We're still getting treated like a show. Ah, whatever. What's that guy doing now?" Johanne examined as the dust cleared, there was a shimmer.

"Ladies and gentleman! It appears that these villains might have escaped our show for now. But I still have a trick or two up my sleeve. With the love of my adoring fans, give me flight!" Kisuke spoke into the microphone he had and hopped back inside Nights of Fire. Soon Kisuke turned around in his car and spun around after getting some distance driving back to the wall.

"Oh hell no. He isn't." Johanne quickly went back to trying to get the bike to start back somewhat guessing Kisuke's plan.

Soon after spinning towards the wall and gathering more wind Nights of Fire lifted off the ground, hovering towards the stands and destroying several seats.

"Oh boy. We're gone." The engine sparked up once again as Johanne kicked off the stand and drove up to the rows until they reached the edge of the stadium, "Another obstacle? No matter." Once again accelerating and calling his stand, M.C.R punched the air at incredibly fast speeds below them several times, the bike rumbling as they soon felt it leave the ground and eventually ramp over the edge of the stadium using his ability to solidify the air thick enough to sustain them and the bike.

"WOAH! DID YOU SEE THAT FOLKS!? THEY RAN OFF THE STADIUM! WILL THIS TURN INTO A CITY-WIDE SHOW!? KEEP AN EYE ON THAT BIG SCREEN! WE'RE BROADCASTING IT ALL!" The announcer roared within the confines of the helicopter, the crowd themselves going crazy thinking it's all a show.

"Johanne we're flying! Where are we going!? We're so far up!" Avelessi looked around at the ground below, and many people still around the building.

"We're goin' down, keep an eye behind us!" Johanne ordered, using every bit of focus he has on using M.C.R. properly landing every single punch he could to build them a bridge of solid air fast enough to ride on using all the training and strength he'd gained to make the transformations count.

"He's right behind us!" A large tornado was seen above them with Nights of Fire stirring within the depths of it.

Coming crashing down when they hit the ground, they were flung along the side of the road hitting guardrails around it and the motorcycle skidding in the middle of the road making another car crash beside them.

Johanne groaned in pain holding his chest and looking around to see Avelessi holding himself up on the guard rails. "F-fucking kidding me man... This guy is the real madman here." He glanced over seeing Nights of Fire slammed into one of the trees beside the road.

"J-Johanne... Are you alright?" Avelessi seeming to move a lot better than He was, he had a lollipop within his mouth as he inched over.

"Is now really the time for candy man? We gotta get to the bike." Johanne leaned back against the rail and groaned in pain.

"No, no. You misunderstand. Remember that lollipop I gave you earlier? Eat it. Quickly." Avelessi ordered narrowing his eyes to the rumbling car.

Johanne dug into his pocket taking out the slightly smashed lollipop, lifting his bike helmet some and quickly unwrapping it to eat it. His eyes bulged open suddenly feeling some of the pain in his chest fade, "N-no way dude... What did you give me man?"

"Johanne hurry!" Avelessi called out as Nights of Fire's engine began to roar again quickly and revving several times.

Johanne quickly dashed over to examine the bike, seeing some of the exteriors smashed off and dented, getting it off the ground and rushing to restart the engine.

"IT SEEMS THERE WAS AN ACCIDENT WITHIN THE STREETS PEOPLE! UNBELIEVABLE! KISUKE IS GETTING READY TO PURSUIT ONCE AGAIN! HE ISN'T EVEN CHECKING ON THE CIVILIANS! MAYBE THIS WAS STAGED!? LET'S FIND OUT!" The annoying announcer continued to spout the scene to the crowd within the stadium as it seems a large majority of them ceased their cheers and watched in concern for the damaged cars.

Avelessi hurried to help the man out of his car, "Sir? Are you alright? Can you hear me?" He asked watching the struggling man in the damaged car. Seeing he was covered in bruises but still conscious. He hurried the man out of the way and to the clear side of the road instructing him with the candy.

"Avelessi! Shake a leg. We gotta go. Kisuke recovered." Both of the machines back and running, Johanne curved around and grabbed him once again onto the bike that was making a loud rattling noise.

Soon after they felt the wind pick up behind them once again and Kisuke pushing his head out the window with some blood running down his eye, "WOOHOO! You fuckers won't get away from me! This is my show and it ends with me on top!" Accelerating after the bike the wind collecting faster with his growing ferocity.

"Sheesh, that guy is freaking insane. But that question I asked earlier Avelessi. My body doesn't hurt nearly as much as it did." Johanne turned his head peering back at Avelessi and Nights of Fire through the slightly smashed helmet.

"I've been practicing with different uses for my Hamon. I've managed to transfer and store it in my candy. Master Metok only taught me certain basics so it'll hurt less for now. It's my gift back to the group!" Avelessi spoke with pride, which brought a smile to Johanne's face.

"Alright. I appreciate that. But I've made a discovery with the way he's moving. You noticed his behavior?" Johanne commented turning down the road and looking around at the environment seeing where he could execute his plan.

"What do you mean? It seems like he's having some trouble controlling his movements- Wait. It can't be. He can't see can he?!" The question burst from his lips followed soon by a scream from the blast that crashed against a stop sign next to them.

"Bingo buddy! He can't see past that barrier. That's going to be his weakness. He's using the wind current and our engine to locate where we are. I have an idea but it's pretty risky. You up for it man?" Avelessi having too little options or time to think rapidly shook his head.

Johanne saw another wind blast that seemed to be rushing straight for them and increased his speed. Eventually meeting a turn in the street Johanne leaning side to side in a swaying motion to dodge the attacks making Avelessi scream from how close they were getting to the ground but eventually curved around the corner and out of Nights of Fire's sight.

"OH, MY GOODNESS PEOPLE! THESE MYSTERIOUS ANTI-HEROES PERFORMED A NEARLY PERFECT CHOKU-DORI! A SWAYING DRIFT COMING AT A STOPPING POINT! DID WE COME FOR A SHOW OR DID WE!?" the announcer continued to hype up the pursuit which annoyed Kisuke as he increased his speed eventually emergency braking into a long drift around the corner and following the tire tracks Johanne's bike left down an alley.

Johanne managed to catch enough distance down a slim alleyway around the block and stopped in front of a large construction site. "Set everything up. I'm going to bait him a little bit."

Avelessi nodded quickly in response to Johanne and running over to take cover behind some of the machinery hearing Kisuke's engine coming around a corner. Johanne put his helmet back on with a sigh, "Fuck. Running low on gas here. And it's starting to break down. I gotta make this quick."

Getting another rattled burst from the engine and kicking off the brake, Johanne quickly took off down the street with Kisuke soon following him.

The chase went on around the block cutting through busy streets and barely making it past cars, Kisuke eventually caught speed with Johanne knowing the bike took some severe damage and rolled down his window with the decrease of the wind barrier. "Well well looks like you ditched the extra weight. I admire that spirit but you gotta die kid. Orders are orders. Would have enjoyed racing you for real but you're a damn amateur!"

Kisuke's laughter soon filled Johanne's ears as he was speaking much louder in spite of the two machines but enough for communication. Johanne slid up the vizor on the motorcycle and smirked, "Amateur my ass. You're just too cocky to get a real challenge. I bet all your races were staged. Your fans will be cheering for me after all the badass tricks I pulled off today. Prepare to eat my dust after this one slowpoke."

Kisuke gritted his teeth angrily as he listened to Johanne continue to attack his pride, the wind violently picking up, "You're going to eat those words in a dirt ditch. You hear me, runt!?" Kisuke's wind started rapidly cutting at the ground making Johanne swerve to avoid it until Kisuke hit a hard left on the wheel and moved towards Johanne.

"WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT FOLKS! NECK TO NECK THESE DRIVERS ARE HAVING A DISPUTE AT MUTUAL LEVEL! I COULDN'T POSSIBLY IMAGINE THE INSULTS BEING THROWN AROUND. BUT WAIT! THEY DON'T SEEM TO NOTICE WALL!" The announcer called out boldly even frightened one would say but this was part of Johanne's plan from the start.

Quickly watching the wind barrier rise over Nights of Fire, Johanne felt the wind slashing at his leg the closer Kisuke got to ramming him until it finally coated him. 'Chance!' Johanne thought while breaking quickly and using his Stand's leg along with the motorcycle's breaks to decrease speed and avoid the impact.

Kisuke, however, noticed the wall almost too late and turned Nights of Fire and once again rammed into the wall slinging himself around from the force, glaring out the window at Johanne.

"Hmm. Controlled by your emotions as well. You're rather slow-minded and slow on the track Kisuke. One last lap. If you can make it." Johanne tossed his helmet and gave the motorcycle a good kickstart and screamed, "WOOHOO!" down the street as he made the distance from Kisuke with his loud righteous taunt howling in the wind.

Only getting more and more furious by the second Kisuke put whatever energy he had left into one last gambit and darted down the street behind Johanne at full speed.

Johanne's bike rattled louder and struggled to speed up but with enough kicks and talking up the machine made it back to the rendezvous point with Avelessi who gave him a thumbs up to show their plan was set up.

Johanne hitting the breaks with a skid close to the ground he slowly approached his friend, grunted heavily once again using his Stand's leg to hold off some of the resistance for a smoother turn. "M.C.R!" With a struggling call, the full body pushed the bike enough to do a donut in the area before the construction site punching the ground several times the street seeming to turn into a large gooey pool.

Kisuke quickly approaching and seeing a head-on collision opportunity with Johanne and increasing his speed. Johanne hopped off the bike and lined it up with Kisuke's incoming car then used M.C.R to put a full force launch with its leg of the bike towards the car and took a dive in the direction of Avelessi on the side.

The motorcycle barreled towards Kisuke using the wind around him to destroy the bike causing an explosion in front of the car clouding his vision further and making him adjust his steering to a slight glide to see. "I've got you now! What the hell!?" Kisuke quickly tried regaining control but couldn't as he felt Nights of Fire begin a long glide past the boys from hitting the pool Johanne made on the ground by liquifying the asphalt constantly until it was a slippery mess and eventually hit a small arrangement of steel bars causing him to flip and roll into a small pit in the zone.

"Now it's your turn bro! Give it to him!" Johanne order running away and ducking for cover behind the same place Avelessi did in their first roundabout.

Avelessi took his position next to the hole and kneeled down placing his hands into the large pit that Kisuke's car was turned over in and placed his hands down in the sand, his breathing slow and steady growth in sound almost like a rustling chime with intense focus.

The ground beneath Kisuke began to glow in multiple spots as Eminem appeared behind Avelessi, his body gave off a bright shimmer multiple colors beginning to flare around the pit, "Ardente Arcobaleno Overdrive! (Burning Rainbow Overdrive)" he lights expanded and causing a large multi-colored explosion within the pit sending fireworks into the air near the helicopter making it divert its path.

"WOAH AND JUST LIKE THAT KISUKE TAKES A DIVE INTO THE DIRT WITH A SPECTACULAR DISPLAY OF FIREWORKS AND PROP EXPLOSIONS! THIS IS TRULY A DAY TO REMEMBER FOLK! THIS BEING BROUGHT TO YOU LIVE FROM BODOU TANDEM TRAX!" Johanne glaring up at the helicopter with a gritty expression wanting to see it hit by one of the fireworks.

He joined Avelessi around the smoking hole in the ground who was sitting there taking breaths, "Man you weren't kidding about that trap." He whistled in an impressed manner and pat Avelessi's back.

From the hole, coughing could be heard followed by the pushing of some of the metal and Kisuke slowly crawling to the edge of the hole burnt slightly and bloodied. Johanne dropped one of Avelessi's lollipops on the ground next to him after kicking him over onto his back. "Y-you... don't you dare look down on... me! You're nothing you little shi-" coughing more his sentence was cut off.

"You know this could have been avoided if you chilled out man. But whatever. We got the free time we needed." Johanne pulled his slightly smashed phone out of his pocket and sighed dialing numbers, "Ah man... I just got this a couple of months ago."

"W-why?" Kisuke glared over at Johanne, his eyes piercing through him reaching out of the sand, "Why did I have to lose to a brat like you!? I'm the- Argh! I'm the best! What do you get from this? You think you're a hero or somethin'!?"

Johanne stopped dialing on the phone for a moment and turned his head, "Why? Because why not? Sitting around got sad and boring. This life is much better for someone like me."

"Someone like you? Grr! You mean a nosey little pissant..!?" Kisuke spat blood at Johanne and tried pushing himself off the ground, "You think you have what it takes... But you'll never be as great as he is. He runs this place for a reason. And you think you can co- come close...!"

Johanne sighed rubbing the back of his head and started to slowly walk away, "I don't think I can. I know I can. And you'll watch me tear this empire down and build a paradise from the rubble." Placing the phone over his ear and walking off with Avelessi at his side, Kisuke simply collapsed into tears against the sand.

"Yo Edward? Yeah, the coast is clear. Whatever guards are left, there shouldn't be anymore Stand users. Yeah. I'm on my way back. Did Kiba grab that package for me? Excellent. See you at the shop." Johanne sighed trying to crack his back. "I'm gonna need one of those Hamon Massages from Metok."

"I would imagine so. You took a nasty spill there. But we made it. That technique really took a great deal out of me. A nice sprinkled shake would be lovely." Avelessi comment stumbling some while they walked.

"No doubt. My treat man. Hmm. I wonder if Kiba will be there. Edward said He dropped the package off to Jotaro and didn't come back. I imagine he's still pretty pissed about not coming. I'll treat him to one too." Johanne dialed Kiba's number several times while they took their way down the road grumbling at the missed calls. "His loss I suppose."

Several hours ago during the long chase...

Kiba could be seen walking out of Johanne's house with his hands tucked into his pockets. Kicking several rocks around the ground and grumbling to himself quietly. "Stupid Stand users. Stupid invisible ghost people! Why do I have to be the damn delivery boy!? Hmph! No fruit cups for you buddy."

Soon after Kiba turned his head over his shoulder seeing a black car slowly trailing behind him once he made it a few blocks away and groaned, 'Don't tell me I owe someone some money or something.' The car drove a little faster noticing Kiba picking up speed around some buildings.

Two men dressed fully in black suits and sunglasses stepped out of the car and spoke clearly enough for Kiba to hear into some form of communications device on his ear, "He's making a move."

Kiba's heart skipped hearing that these men were definitely looking for him and broke into a dead sprint down an alley next to the street knocking over some of the garbage cans to slow them down and jumping onto a chain link fence climbing over it and watching the men struggle past the cans. "Hah! Serves you ri- Gah!"

His body was quickly slung to the ground by another man dressed in a black while a few more came and pinned him down and another punched the back of his head while he was struggling against the ground to knock him out. "Take him to the car. Let Mr. Barlem know we have the lure."

One of the men tossed Kiba over his shoulder, limp and unconscious to the car in the backseat driving off from the alleyway into the many buildings surrounding the area without a trace.


	9. Chapter 9: A Daring Rescue

A couple of days after finishing their work at the race track our group of reckless fighters finds themselves once again at Megumi's parlor sitting at the counter with their usual orders.

Johanne tapping his finger along the table looking through a yellow folder with the straw from his milkshake twirling around his lip and Kaito standing next to him beside the counter speaking in a hushed tone, "That's the footage we've received so far from the cameras at the Stadium. He hasn't made an attempt at coming back. But these two gentlemen keep returning as if they were surveying."

Upon closer examination, the boys saw a larger muscular man along with a shorter man with something flowing off his shoulders in dark silhouettes. Avelessi said and shook his head, "Neither of these men is familiar to me by a glance. I am deeply sorry."

"Don't worry about it, little buddy. We've got bugs all over the place there now. They can keep running under our supervision. If the Mayor wants to take back control. He knows how to get our attention. All we're doing is getting a little look ahead." Johanne took a long drink of his shake and sighed at the satisfaction.

"Hmm. Johanne I was wondering. When we were recruited. I didn't even get a name. How does a town elect a mayor without as much as going about a full name?" Kaito chimed in putting the pictures back into the folder.

"Well, when you have as much influence as people around my father do. Money talks and as you can see the less fortunate... walk. " Avelessi quietly stirred his sprinkled vanilla shake with a sigh.

Johanne scratched his long blonde and silver hair annoyed, "Avelessi ain't exactly wrong there. The only thing along with the ballets and his campaign commercials was 'Roku No Emperor'. Or some shit like that. That's what my dad said anyway."

"The Emperor of Six? That's very odd. I'll look into that. A lot has changed since I'd left Bodou after my father passed. I come back and this place was run down even further than I would have ever imagined. I suppose that's an even further inspiration to defect." Kaito added twirling one of his bone knives in his hand.

"I appreciate you coming along Kaito. I could tell by the way you responded to me. Your heart wasn't where it belonged. No hesitation in battle but there's a rage behind that cold intent." Johanne pitched his words with grace smiling to Kaito who only responded by closing his eyes.

"Now now old chaps. Let's not get too emotional as much as I'd love to support a friendly hug about..." Sarcastically commenting as he came in wearing his work attire, Edward joined them at the counter and sat a glass of water down by Kaito, "We have business to attend to. The next location to hit is without a doubt needing to be big. I'm sure the shutting down for repairs, controversy, news speculates and so on would certainly anger the Mayor. But we need his full directive and doing minor hits won't start the revolution we need."

"Well, why don't hit him where it really hurts?" Megumi popped up from underneath the counter resting herself against Edward and smirked at the boys who all stared in an uncomfortable manner.

"You need to find his BIG money makers and snuff them out. Bit. by. bit." She continued with her statements tip-toeing her fingers along Edward's chest with each word. "You've stirred up quite the commotion over that last spectacle but you need to find out who's running the money. Where do you think your money a month goes to?"

Johanne contemplated for a moment, snapping at the realization. "Bills. Civil services. Luxuries. I'm sitting here feeling like an idiot but the answers been there."

"Bingo sweetheart. You're just looking in the wrong places." Megumi giggled under her breath with a relaxed sigh twirling a finger in her hair, "It's nice though. You boys have brought a lot of business here because they believe you were part of the show the other day."

Edward slowly took hold of her hands, tugging her off him softly with a smirk, "I suppose the fair lady isn't wrong my friends. I think I know exactly where to start."

"How about you start with your little friend?" A man in a black suit said walking into the shop with two others. Completely on guard, the whole crew stood forward and glared.

"Those suits. That emblem. I recognize those. You fiends... You're my father's workers! What is the meaning of this intrusion?" Avelessi stepped forward with a stronger tone of anger in his voice.

"Ah yes, Master Avelessi. It's very nice to see you again. I almost miss doing your pathetic runs for sweets along the day and polishing your shoes. Regardless this visit isn't for you. It's for you!" The man pointed towards Jotaro who was at the end of the counter silently glaring at them.

"Yare yare... Here I thought I could go ahead and mind my own business. What the hell do you idiots want?" Jotaro stepped forward slowly with a hand in his pocket.

"We have something of your interest. A few actually. Do you recognize these?" The man pulling a smartphone from his pocket scrolling to a picture of Kiba sitting in a chair with his clothing torn. Jotaro's eyes widened looking closer into the picture.

"Bastards... You've taken the kid and you have the arrow. Give them both back and I'll only kick your ass 5% less than how bad I want to right now. Come out with it." Jotaro pushed his foot forward examining them before attacking.

"It isn't that easy and you know that Jotaro. You're trying to intimidate us because you know we have the intel you need on the location. But if you harm us in any way we'll never tell you where. Follow our car now or never because by the end of the night the arrow will be gone and the boy is dead." The men laughed at their leverage making Jotaro grit his teeth in frustration.

While the man laughed, the man didn't realize Johanne stepping forward and leaning in slamming his head into the man's nose knocking him out the door. "You assholes don't know who you're dealing with... You really don't. Here I thought Kiba, my best friend, was mad at me this whole time. That I'd put him to the side for my own selfish goal. AND YOU PIECES OF SHIT KIDNAPPED HIM!?" Johanne's emotions flourishing with rage made the men step back and reach into their coats.

Suddenly from behind the counter, there was a loud click, "Don't you dare." Megumi pulled out a long bright pink revolver with a loud clank from the metal charm at the butt of the gun and pointed it at them making the men freeze in place. Her bittersweet smile remained constant along with her alluring tone "I protect my people and my place. Make any other move that's not going out that door and you're dead. Okay, darling? Hehe!"

This entire group was staring them down from inside the shop ready to attack if they dared pull on Johanne only collecting their speaker and hurrying to their car across the street.

Megumi with a kiss of her gun slipped it into her chest opening of the top she was wearing with a sigh, rolling circles around Edward's chest with her finger, "I'm sorry you had to see that sugar. But it seems you all have other matters to attend to. Please. Take the day off."

Edward nodded gently brushing Megumi away and grabbing his coat off the rack next to the counter looking over to his friend, "Johanne."

"I'm going to go get him. You guys can follow if you choose. Kiba's my friend." Johanne said walking outside and looking around for a means of transportation.

"I imagine you're going to look for something to steal. Don't be a delinquent all your life. Megumi we're going to borrow that van in the back." Jotaro demanded walking up to the counter and was greeted with the keys happily.

"Take care of the old girl. I figured you boys would need something that's going to take you all." She winked to the boys walking back to the counter to tend to her panicking customers in the shop.

"Jotaro... You know they want you, why would you walk into them like this? If I go ahead I can get Kiba and get out. This isn't the first time a gun has been waved in my face." Johanne turned after finishing the statement to see Avelessi, Edward, Jotaro, and Kaito walking past him and towards the van in the back.

"Save your breath kid. Let's get this show on the road. Before they clear too much distance. They just pulled off." Jotaro said motioning him to follow. Metok's words echoed in Johanne's head but followed quickly behind.

They all boarded the van with Jotaro driving and following as quickly as they could behind the black car the men were in. Everyone was silent within the back of the van while Edward was checking around their vehicle in the passenger seat.

Avelessi sat in the far off corner in one of the back seats of the van with his large pouch he carried around taking off some of his clothing and a few pieces of jewelry he carried replacing them with bandages around his hands.

"Avelessi. Are you alright?" Johanne who was on the other side of the seat stared him down, the atmosphere around that seat was tense.

"I know he's going to be there. He wouldn't send his personal squadron otherwise. Johanne. You know what I have to do." Avelessi turned to Johanne the glimmer in his eye was a burning rage fueled by his overwhelming desire for revenge.

Nodding slowly in response to Avelessi's comment, "I won't stop you. Just know we've got your back man. I just need to get Kiba out of there. Damnit I wish I hadn't involved him in the first place."

"There's no need for that. We all chose our paths Johanne. Every human chooses their own destiny whether it's paved in blood or flowers. bodies or bridges. We decide. Just like Kiba decided to go off and join you. Isn't that what 'friends' are?" Coming from the seat in front of them was Kaito, peaking back at the comments being made.

Both Johanne and Avelessi grew silent while staring at one another until Johanne sighed under his breath reaching out his fist, "Let's get out of this alive, huh? I'm sorry for being an idiot. I'm just worried about Kiba. I know I can depend on you all."

Avelessi nodded with a stretch to his lip bumping his fist and taking a deep breath tightening the bandage around his hand and checking all the candies in his sack. "I've waited for this moment for so long... I won't mess this up."

After around a 10 minute drive they finally reached a large warehouse with a guard post gate. The car they were tailing passed with no issue and from the inside of the guard post they were watched passing and the man slowly reached for a phone in the booth. As soon as he did Jotaro looked back and nodded to Kaito who pushed the window open and looked around at the wiring to the booth, his gauntlet forming on his hand and using the same beam technique he used on Johanne to fire at a few of the cords cutting the power to the booth.

"They're going to know in a minute or so. Floor it." Kaito said reaching his gauntlet to his side and making a few of his knives out of the white sludge coming from his gauntlet. Jotaro immediately turned down another lane into a large area within the bounds of the warehouse where there were multiple pieces of large broken stone and stone roadblocks with caution markings.

The van came to a quick halt parked to the side with the wide end directly facing the warehouse. They all quickly piled out to the covered side of the van and took covering positions.

"They're over here! Alert the guards! We have Jotaro in the- ARGH!" One of the guards that had come back around to check the car was quickly dispatched by Kaito dashing up to him and sinking a knife into his throat and removing the loaded gun from his hand.

Jotaro peaked through the window and scanned the area noticing several guards already making their way to the surrounding building. "We have a lot of company to deal with. Be on your toes. I don't know if they have any Stand Users. Move slowly."

Johanne and Avelessi moved from the back of the van and took a position to the back of one of the stone chunks piled together. "They must have recently remodeled this place. This is a very old stone and the pavement is slick, only covered by tire tracks."

Avelessi added to the statement, "It's a storehouse. My father is one of the more successful firearms distributors within the city and a few neighboring cities and overseas. Along with controlling the metal recycling from the refuge. That's the foundation of his Empire."

"You'd think with all that money we wouldn't have to be here. Wait a minute." Johanne stopped Avelessi and pointed towards the sound of footsteps around the rock. He whispered, "Cover me." Avelessi nodded in response calling out Eminem.

The footsteps crept closer to them as Johanne cut around the corner and launched a punch from M.C.R at another man that tried to sneak up on them with a large automatic rifle knocking him to the floor unconscious. "Gotcha asshole."

Jotaro's eyes darted quickly around and caught a glisten at the roof of the building followed by some slight movement and looked over at Johanne, "Johanne! Get down!" Before he could react there was a gunshot at the top of the building. Johanne tried to turn to it and duck behind a rock but saw the bullet barreling towards his head.

"Star Platinum! The World!" Within the very instance, the bullet was about to hit Johanne between the eyes but time itself came to a stop. Jotaro quickly made his way over and sent a punch at the bullet to knock it away but it didn't budge at all. "That's not right. I don't have time for this. It's running out." Jotaro quickly kicked over Johanne knocking him to cover and ducking himself, "Time has begun to move again."

Johanne bounced off the ground with a portion of the ground kicking up beside the rock as the bullet flew into the dirt, "W-what the hell? Why am I on the ground? Did you do that thing?"

"I stopped time. There's a sniper on that roof. No silencer, the round wasn't as fast as it could have been, it's not a sniper rifle. But it is a pretty decent caliber assault weapon. When we trained I felt your Stand rushes against mine. Your M.C.R is well equipped enough to deflect bullets. Move slowly. You all too!" Jotaro commanded the team as they all made their way around.

"I'll cut around and stop the flank. The doorway is there. We should be able to get through if I take out the guards." Edward said pointing over his slab at the set of double doors.

"I'll come along. I need to get in there. I can help with the distraction." Avelessi motioned moving towards Edward holding up a couple of sticks of Pocky.

"Then Johanne and I will storm the sniper. He'll have to deal with us. I'm sure he's repositioned by now. It would be the smart thing to do when Jotaro found out his position. Everyone clear?" Kaito armed himself with a couple of his bone tribal knives and scanned over the edge.

The crew nodded in agreeance and quickly darted in the opposite directions. Several shots rained down in the area but getting stopped by the debris and signs around the area. Edward grabbed a few bullets from a magazine one of the guards left and tossed it at one of the directions with his Stand's launching power, Dragonforce pierced the men's hands making them drop the guns. Avelessi followed his lead soon after blinding several of the gunmen guarding the gates with bright fireworks and quickly dispatching them with Eminem sending kicks at their heads knocking them out.

Johanne and Kaito were silently motioned to move from Jotaro who had a small dolphin shaped mirror angled to the roof. Johanne cut a right around a stone block out of sight of the roof and curved around the corner to watch as well. Two more gunshots fired off but there wasn't a reaction from Jotaro or Kaito. Soon Johanne felt himself jerk over and hit the ground with another pile of dirt knocking out of the ground beside him.

Groaning heavily and holding his shoulder some blood poured out of it while he inched back to cover. "You can't be serious man. What the fuck was that?" Johanne looked around the area but didn't see the sniper from his angle. He had M.C.R push its finger in the wound and seal it shut with solidified blood.

Soon another two gunshots fired but Johanne paid attention to the sound this time and heard a clink and quickly tugged his leg back feeling it scrapped by another bullet. "He's ricochetting the bullets off something. I need to reposition."

He called out his Stand once more to knock off a large chunk of the rock piece and quickly rush it with punches turning it into a large thick smoke plume with his ability. Using the cover to duck to the ground and tumble behind another pile in the middle.

"Jotaro! Keep your eye out! He's using something to bounce the bullets!" Johanne alerted the team seeing that at least this time let Edward and Avelessi enter the building and keep the sniper at bay.

"An ace shot. Let's see if he can keep up with me." Kaito tossed his knife into the air in a barreling spin which quickly got it shot by the rifle. He made note of the position darting out with his feet and body pressed low and his arms back, cutting through the air and between the rocks with dedicated speed. He managed to aim his gauntlet and fire at the position clipping the shoulder of the mysterious shooter with another one of his blue beams of energy until he felt himself get shot from the angle he just left and drop to the ground.

"W-what is this ability...!? He shot my knife." Kaito tumbled back to cover holding the gunshot wound and tore his shirt to cover up the bleeding. "He's formidable. But he's our problem for now."

"Kaito. If we get close enough, I'm sure we can jump on the roof and finish him off. But we need to get there without him splitting our heads open. I can't tell where he is shooting from or whatever the hell he's bouncing off of. Jotaro hasn't moved yet. He's covering for us with Intel and making sure we have some time to react. He couldn't get our angles from the position we started in as well. That must be the limit to his Stand ability's range. But we're sitting ducks."

"Sitting ducks? That's a rather absurd comment. We're crouching and human beings. But this isn't the time for jokes. We need to be careful or we're dead. I noticed Edward pulling off this idea. I took them from the guards around the van." He tossed a couple of magazines of ammo to Johanne who was against the rock very close to his. "Use these to retaliate."

"I'm going to bait myself real quick. Just try and give me a call out. M.C.R's eyes are sharp enough to knock away a bullet from that range if we see it coming." He tucked the magazines into the pocket of his school uniform and watched Kaito nod to him.

He dashed out feeling a couple more shots fire around him one by one each accurately knocked away until the last few clinking noises and shimmers of light in the air had Johanne shot in the foot and fell against a rock in the open giving a scream of pain.

"Johanne! I figured it out!" Kaito announced quickly dashing from his cover behind the rock and dashing up to Johanne. Upon grabbing his companion and tumbling behind the rock he took three shots to the leg and laid there in pain behind it.

"Kaito! Sit still. I can't heal it but I can stop the bleeding. Nothing fatal right?" Johanne moved closer quickly moving out the arm of his stand to seal the bullet holes with blood until the Kaito who was shivering slightly in pain grabbed his arm.

"The bullets went straight through. You're tending to me before yourself. Normally I would be ecstatic at the very sight of a bleeding wound or a downed prey but you need to listen close. The bouncing in the air. The bullets are flying off one another. He's somehow redirecting the angles of the bullets to hit us. Look." Kaito pointed to a smoking bullet with a dent on it laying on the ground next to the rock.

"So that's got to be his Stand ability. Now we just need to beat him at his own game. And quick. We need to back up Avelessi and Edward. There's no telling what they are doing in there."

Over on the roof, the single dropping of an empty magazine was heard falling and hitting the roof, followed by the lone sound of a man humming 'Fight the Power' under his breath while watching his targets below. "Ah, they don't understand who they are dealing with. Mr. Barlem hired me specifically for my creativity. The military couldn't handle my skills and discharged me without a second thought. I feel appreciated here. At peace on the battlefield."

Right after finishing the reload, He removed the shirt off his back and tossed it to his lap, then grabbed one of the bullets from beside him put the cap between his teeth and pulled them apart. After that, the man poured some of the gunpowder over the wound and set it on fire with a lighter beside him slamming his fist on the ground in pain. After a few seconds, he doused the flame out with a water bottle and his shirt with a wide grin across his lips. "Its go time baby!"

Returning to his position of scouting out the boys, he noticed that Edward and Avelessi made it safely into the building, "No matter. They aren't my target. Jotaro you may have a powerful Stand, but Mr. Barlem gave me this ability, Public Enemy, to take down troublesome insects like you. Nice and far away." With his speech, a small black figure about the size of a baby crawled over his shoulder placing its metallic fingers on the trigger with him. The figure had a robotic face to it with multiple chains wrapped around its neck and hanging to its stomach and a military camo hard hat that extended up to the height and shape of a top hat.

Taking aim down at the boys after the last few shots he fired, the man only snickered waiting for them to make another fleeting attempt at the door from his new position on the room.


	10. Chapter 10: Public Enemy and the Barlems

The silence grew around the area in front of the decently sized warehouse. The battlefield was set and the game was virtually a large scale chess game in which a single wrong move could end the other's lives.

Johanne grew impatient with the lingering threat that was before them, wanting desperately to get to his friend. He continued to peak around the corner only for another bullet to collide with the side of the slab and fly past his face. His fist pounded into the dirt while he returned to safety, "Goddamnit! How are we supposed to get past this guy?"

"Stay calm and think Johanne. Just like you did with your battle against me. The battle experience difference was great but you used your head and won a different way. We can devise a plan with what we have." Kaito reassured Johanne then took the time to examine the area for potential cover.

"I'm going to assume the closer we get the better he seems to hit us. I managed to catch him slipping and shot his shoulder but he knows we have a projectile attack and won't fall for it twice so easily." Kaito added to his prior statement taking out another knife and twirling it.

"Then you're saying we might have to get up close and personal to finish this guy off. His Stand's ability is going to make it tricky to watch our backs and move." Johanne took note taking a small chunk of rock and tossing it watching the rock get obliterated by another bullet. "He's not bad either. Well trained shot. He has experience beyond his Stand."

The man over the roof with his new angle on the large slab of stone they hid behind chuckled to himself and spoke loud enough for them to hear him. "You know you're going to be toast if you don't move soon. I'm getting my read on ya soon! You're no match for Public Enemy and the talent the Military discarded!" His laughter echoed while he got ready to line up another shot.

"Cocky bastard. We have to move Kaito. He's getting ready to attack us again." Johanne said which caught him a moment's hesitation from Kaito.

"That might just be what he's looking for. He wants us to move so he can pick off one of us with another shot. We stayed here too long." Kaito groaned quietly as he readied himself to respond by getting to his feet despite the pain from the previous gunshot wounds.

"We'll split up. You go the way I came from and I'll move the other way. I need to test something and this might be the only way." Johanne suggested with confidence and Kaito could hear it in his voice only nodding in response.

"Times up men! At attention!" The man on the roof took aim once again and his Stand crawled over his shoulder the moment he did. Moving its small metallic hand over the trigger a light seemed to travel from the trigger up to the next bullet ready to fire.

"Now!" Johanne made the call to put their plan into action and dashed off into the opposite directions leaving the cover of the rock at the same time.

"Not so fast! We got bogies movin'! Public Enemy!" As the bullets quickly escaped the chamber with a double tap of the trigger they weren't fired directly at them but at a metal sign behind the slab that they were hiding behind and suddenly with two quick tinks of the metal the bullets flew in the direction of both of them.

Johanne took note of the attack while making a tumbling roll away from the bullet feeling it graze his arm. Kaito repeated but had more cover from the area he ran to and just barely dodged the bullet.

"Woot! We almost got em Chief. Few more shots and they'll be bleedin' out. Running out of places to hide men! Front and center! Sergeant William Shocklee always completes his mission!" The man wasn't afraid to reveal his location at the overwhelming feeling of victory he had accumulated. It showed by how well he repositioned and got closer to their vital spots.

Johanne managed to crouch around Jotaro's rock who was sitting there in silence and closing his mirror. "Seems like that guy has his head up his own ass. Have you figured it out yet, Johanne?"

Catching his breath silently and peaking over to Jotaro, he nodded silently and smirked, "This guy's Stand ability is a little bit more than what I expected. He's using some form of released energy, kinetic energy more than likely, at a contact point. That's what is making the bullets bounce. It can't be just a coincidence."

Jotaro smirked being proud of the boy's resourceful thinking, "Then what's your plan to counter this idiot? We've got people waiting on us."

"Mr. Jotaro. I'm going to need you to do a little bit of running. If you don't mind." Johanne suggested to him inching up to Jotaro and whispering to him and pulling out the magazines of ammunition that was given to him. "Whenever you're ready." Then moved over to the side and screamed out to Kaito, "Mix him up Kaito! Run!" His plan was set into motion.

Kaito followed the order getting into a crouching position and kicking off the ground dashing between the slabs as quickly as he could, then followed Jotaro jumping into the plan getting William's attention immediately and actively swapping between the two moving men. William's military training prepared him for stuff like this, Jotaro and Kaito had the numbers advantage but William didn't waste the opportunity to spray down the area kicking up large amounts of dirt and dust from the impact of the bullets with the broken slabs.

Johanne took the cover of the gunfire, sparks, and dust to move around as silently and stealthily as possible. In his hand, there were several clacking sounds and the occasional pause at one of the stones here and there.

"Johanne! We can't keep this up! He's getting closer and closer every time. Gah!" Kaito grabbed his shoulder quickly flipping backward to avoid another line of bullets until he made it to another rock.

"Just a little longer. Fuck!" Johanne stepped backward feeling another bullet rush past his face and continued to dash between the covering.

Jotaro followed back towards the route they were running in and passed Johanne at the point there were told to meet at finally stopped beside Johanne. "He's gotten all our angles. Times up kid. We ready?"

Johanne stopped dead in his tracks slapping one hand on the rock they were in front of and nodded. "Perfect. Sorry about the wait."

"What the hell are you men talkin' about!? Don't you know there is no time to dilly dally on the battlefield!?" William shot another bullet that was targeted between Jotaro and Johanne to bounce off once again and hit both of them who were posing before the rock.

Both of them quickly noticed the bullets using the eyes of their Stands to track the speed to put their plan into finishing touches and pulled out a couple of bullets themselves using their Stand's maximum power to flick the bullets at his making them bounce off quickly and step aside. William jerked in slight concern seeing the bullets now moving slightly from their targets.

"Figuring out this ability was tricky William. But now it's your downfall." Johanne and Jotaro both stepped aside watching the now off trajectory bullets miss them and hit a large misshaped clump of lead that bounced off quickly with the same noise they noticed before confirming Johanne's suspicions. "Watch and learn."

As quickly as they were fired the bullets ricocheted off several other clumps of lead in the places Johanne ran before until the one to William's blind spot flew back to the top of the warehouse, shattering through his gun and hitting him through the chest causing him to fall back and shout in pain, "G-GOD DAMN! MAN DOWN! MAN DOWN!"

"Boost me would you please?" Jotaro was asked by Johanne who happily obliged to Johanne's request using Star Platinum as a bar they twirled him around and flung the young man towards the roof and near the ledge using M.C.R's hand to grab onto it and pull him up.

The screaming from William continued as Johanne picked himself up from the edge and stretched, "I know you're just doing your job or what the hell ever. But I'm not exactly too appreciative of you shooting at us."

"Grrr! Fancy yourself a big man huh? A good soldier comes prepared!" William quickly pushed himself off the ground with something in his mouth. Johanne readied himself for a full frontal attack but was shocked to see that it was a grenade pin in his mouth and the explosive in his palm. With slightly muffled speech and the spitting pitch of victory in his tone, "Night night private!" William screamed as it ran.

"Damn that's such a lame excuse for an attack." With the incredible speed and reaction that he gained from experiences, he jerked forward slamming his leg into William's to knock him off course and using M.C.R's superior speed and strength to smash his wrist and launch the grenade off to the opposing side making it explode shortly after.

William kneeled in pain staring at his shattered wrist, viciously cursing under his breath, "You fucker! My damn wrist! Grrr!" Glaring up at Johanne from the floor William still attempted to charge again to try and knock Johanne off the build.

"Pieces of shit like you. Just don't give up, huh?" Johanne sidestepped the attack but quickly followed through before William could make it off the roof and rushed him with M.C.R. The roar of 'NANANANANANANA!' could be heard from the top of the build as a flurry of punches buried into William's chest and face until he was beaten unconscious and fell off the warehouse into a pile of gravel and sand at the bottom. "And that's how it's done. Cha cha~" Johanne took the opportunity to hop off the roof and land on William to use as a cushion for the fall.

Kaito walked over to offer a hand to Johanne to get off the passed out man and bowed in respect, "An excellent display of skill. But I'm sure we have much more pressing matters."

"Yeah, we do. Let's head inside." Johanne led the charge past the gate and carefully up to the door examining the window over it only seeing pitch black inside. With a silent hand motion, the group slowly made their way inside the long corridor leading past a couple of doors.

"Do you have an idea of how to navigate this place?" Jotaro asked watching every door they had passed along the way until they reached a hallway.

"Not a clue but Avelessi said it shouldn't be that hard to find them. He said they would leave a clue." Johanne added turning his head around the corner slowly to see a large set of double doors and a bright red candy wrapped wedged into the door barely see through some light in the door. "There. Come on."

The group slowly made their way to the door, creeping up ever so slowly. Johanne reached for the door handled slowly until the door was forced open quickly seemingly by a kick knocking Johanne in the face and onto the ground. "Ah! Fuck me, man!"

"Don't move a god damn muscle!" The sound of metal clicking filled the air from the voice behind the door. Johanne looked up to see that a large group of men was standing in their way all pointing pistols at them ready to fire.

"The Boss has been waiting for you. Come along slowly and no one gets hurt. Yet." The main man talking spoke calmly as the rest of them parted the group to allow them passage into the room. Jotaro, Kaito, and Johanne, once off the ground, lined up and slowly walked past the group. They were well informed of the Stand ranges so they didn't get close enough to be openly attacked and kept the guns pointed.

Jotaro gritted his teeth as he passed the group, 'Damnit. Star Platinum The World won't give me enough time to disarm them all. This is a god awful situation. I'll have to play along for now.'

The group was eventually led into the last doorway past the lit one into a large room. Johanne's eyes sparked with anger as he saw that Avelessi and Edward were standing with their arms raised to the air and slightly beaten but worst of all that fueled his rage was seeing Kiba strapped to a table with multiple pieces of machinery and broken wood around the table, his clothes in a tattered mess and dried blood on the table. "KIBA! KIBA!"

Hearing Johanne's cries one of the men that guided them replied, "Shut the hell up! You'll be joining him soon enough." With a swift smack with the gun across his cheek cutting it and sending him to the floor beside Edward.

"Johanne! Are you alright mate?" Edward replied which got another gun pointed at him, annoyed he halted his movements.

"Line up! All of you!" Kaito didn't fear their words or intentions, not after what Johanne has done for the group thus far and helped him to his feet.

After some time of silence with the group lined up and targeted by the firing squad, there was the tapping of shoes coming from a side entrance. All eyes turned to the sound as the door pushed open to reveal the grey and blue-haired tyrant himself, Ulysses Barlem slowly approaching our group with his hands behind his back.

Ulysses' and Avelessi's eyes met as soon as he stepped within sight and approached the crowd with an overwhelming grudge clouding the air. "Father. You've done a lot of low down scumbag things but this has crossed the line."

"Hah. You say that after defying your father, being utterly disrespectful, and sabotaging so much we've worked towards with the gift I gave you!" Ulysses spit back which only gave way to an even angrier Avelessi.

"You used me! I was your test dummy! You are the one who threw everything away for whatever the hell that terrible man is offering you! You took my mother away from me! You kicked me from my home! And you're going to pay."

Ulysses heard the bladed words that came from his son's mouth and turned his head to laugh loudly enough to echo in the room. "Pathetic son. Look at the position you're in. Look at the position your friends are in with you. I'm going to get as close as I can to the boss and climb to the top. His words have taken me and soon-" Cutting off his sentence Avelessi's eyes widened as he watched Ulysses' hand slowly raise and a swirl of yellow light formed within the palm turning into the very familiar shape of a gun. "And soon. I'm going to finish you with the very same I did your mother. Surprised son? Of course, you were a test dummy. A passing grade. I'm sure if an insignificant cur like yourself can manifest the blessed power of our boss. So can I. My devotion to him is ironclad! With my Stand Saturday Night Special I'll end Jotaro Kujoh!"

Avelessi's glared protruded rage and tears remembering that night too well, his heart thumping a mile a minute and replaying that gun being raised over and over. "You.. you... Son of a bitch..."

"Hah! You're one to talk son. Now young Johanne and Jotaro. Surrender your lives and I'll make this very quick. I'll let this pincushion of a friend go and only keep you two and my son. I have what I want. The rest will be hunted down by the Boss." Ulysses walked over to the table that Kiba laid against and pulled the arrow from a small sack beside the table.

Johanne and Jotaro's eyes jerked open in shock turning to one another giving a slight nod. "Fine old man." Johanne silently surrendered looking over at Kiba. His heart heavy and close to out of solutions, he didn't want his friend dragged into this, to begin with.

Jotaro and Johanne stepped toward the guards before them and both quickly took the moment understanding one another mutually without a word and sent their fists into the two of their faces knocking them over.

Everyone's eyes grew wide at the sudden attack before they could further their plans Jotaro and Johanne both felt bullets fly through their legs and fell over in a pained groan.

"You think this is some form of gamble!? Some last ditch effort!? You're both worms in this state! I hold the cards here." Ulysses lectured them with fury in his voice while smoke escaped the barrel of the Browning in his hand.

"Heh. If I'm going to die might as well die with a spurt of glory. Knock one last guy one." Johanne said with a cocky tone which got him kicked by one of the men holding guns.

Ulysses motioned all of the men to step beside him next to the table and pointed his gun at Avelessi. "Allow me to show you how effortlessly I hold these cards. How little mishaps can cost you everything." Ulysses raised the arrow high in the air turning his head to Jotaro knowing full well the range of his Stand and the leverage he carried.

"NO! DON'T DO IT!" Avelessi and Johanne pleaded to Ulysses, reaching out desperately to the man as he watched him swiftly plunge the arrow into Kiba's throat which made him give off a swift choking sound.

Johanne shook in frustration staring down at the ground with his fists clutched tightly to the point of bleeding against the floor while Ulysses ripped the arrow from Kiba's throat and turned his attention away from him not noticing the lack of blood spilling.

"Do you see now!? Your mistakes and what they breed!? You'll die with your efforts lo-" Ulysses was cut off but a sudden burst of anger from Avelessi and Johanne mutually screaming, "Shut the hell up!"

Both of the boys pushed from their positions and started to run at Ulysses in full sprint. "Shoot them! Kill them now!" Ulysses gave the order to all the men to take them down immediately but there was nothing. All the men were shocked and confused that their hands were empty and their guns nowhere to be seen. Avelessi and Johanne stopped in their tracks noticing a strange figure behind the table that Kiba was laying on, a new person that none of them had seen before in the room and didn't see them enter.

The individual behind the table worse a long bright brown overcoat, almost one like a detective would wear. A longer tipped over the eyes fedora of the same color as the coat with one of his hands tucked away in the pocket and grey metallic skin with piercing yellow eyes that could be seen if peaked at the right angle. One of the arms of the figure moved over the air in a sweeping motion with its white-gloved hand stopping with a closed palm.

"What the hell is the matter with you all!? Why aren't you shooting!? Why aren't they dead!? Which one of you rats has done this!?" Ulysses panicked and screamed at his men with no responses coming from the crowd as he waved his gun around the rest of the group with their hands still held up.

"Sir! Our guns! They've vanished! We have nothing to shoot with!" One of the men next to him frightened and shaking.

There was faint laughter coming from the table, from Kiba's lips to be exact. Johanne flashed back to his senses with a wide smile and tears slowly dripping down his eyes struggling to speak out of sheer happiness.

Like the undead from a tomb, Kiba's body rose from the table and spoke in the cockiest tone possible, "Oh, please don't jump to conclusions. This is the works of something more. So..." As Ulysses turned his head, every muscle reacting as if he'd seen a ghost meeting eyes with Kiba who stared him down with confidence and dried blood over his stretched smile, "It's not my fault! Hahahahaha!"

The interaction was a mockery to Ulysses' pride and the entire way he planned for this meeting to occur. He swiftly moved his hand and watched the pistol morph into a sawed-off shotgun pointing it straight at Kiba's head. "DIE!" He proclaimed trying to pull the trigger but Ulysses felt his entire body sling backward and fly into three of his men in a large tumble. The delivering force of the punch was the figure behind the table responding to the threat to Kiba's life and faded away soon after.

Johanne rushed to the table and grabbed onto his friend who was wobbling and fighting his consciousness. "Holy crap you look like shit man..."

"Yeah well, you look like a fuckin' cry baby. Who looks shittier?" Kiba responded with a devious grin and fell over against Johanne.

"Obviously you... Let's get you out of here man. But first..." With the finishing of Johanne's sentence, all eyes in the room turned to Ulysses who was pushing his panicking men out of the way seeing them rush out the room.

Avelessi stepped forward holding his arm out to the group with the wide distance between them and his father, taking a deep breath. "It's my fight to settle. If you will my friends."

Everyone remained silent but knew that the score needed to be settled here and now. The entire group accepted Avelessi's request.

"Hah! Do you think you've grown up? That you're some kind of man now!? You'll die cold and alone like your mother." Ulysses pointed his shotgun at Avelessi firing off several shots. Quickly being enraged by the comment, Eminem formed beside Avelessi nudging him several times with their legs moving in perfect sync to avoid the shotgun blasts.

Following their dodge, Avelessi tossed some candy on the ground, a hand full of jawbreakers, making them flash in color sparks and eventually seep out several large clouds of colored smoke hiding Avelessi in the shade.

"Nice little parlor trick son. Let us see how you fare against this!" Flipping the gun once again, the shotgun changed shape in Ulysses' palm and turned into a Tommy gun unloading into the cloud of smoke. Large sparks began to fly inside of the shroud with each step being taken to avoid the bullets but the movements seemed to get faster and faster the closer they got to Ulysses.

Jotaro crossed his arms watching the display as accurately as possible knowing full well what's happening within the shroud and took his place beside Johanne and Kiba tipping his hat down, "Watch closely. You're witnessing the human spirit evolving before your very eyes."

Both of the boys were amazed at the remarkable speed that was coming from Avelessi and how he handled himself within the fight, something was so much different.

"Sit the hell still! You were always a pest! Never liked to listen to me! Huh!?" The footsteps finally approached closer as the magazine that the gun was firing finally emptied and out of the shroud came to Avelessi jumping up with his entire body burning a bright yellow, the whistling of his breathing crackled in the air as Eminem's body behind him moved with Avelessi shifting his body mid-air and sending its leg into the side of Ulysses' head spinning him another great distance back with a loud scream.

Tumbling with a shaking frustration from getting outsmarted by his son with blood dripping down the side of his head, he stood back and watched while Avelessi gave him a stare of pure hatred, blood pouring down his arm from a gunshot and his Hamon energy radiating. "You fucking failure... I'll end your pathetic existence!" Still holding onto his gun then raising it up to his shoulder the shape of the weapon changing once more this time to a bazooka and firing it off as soon as it was complete, "Addio tua delusione!"

"Holy shit this guy is a fucking madman! We have to do something,Mr. Jotaro use your-" Johanne's panicked speech was cut off by Jotaro holding his hand up and shaking his head.

"Just watch closely. Avelessi's prepared for this. I've never seen his mind this into the game before." Jotaro remained in his position with his same ever so serious expression.

The chiming of Avelessi's breathing grew as he lowered his body some and bounced off the tip of his feet pushing himself forward in a twirling motion, his body seemed to contort and crack using his small stature and an ungodly speed to his advantage. His body was as free as the wind itself speeding past the rocket in a twirling dive past it making it utterly miss Avelessi and explode on his original starting point.

Johanne covered Kiba and himself from the force and debris of the blast in shock with his M.C.R "W-what the hell was that!? He was all bendy! Like he had no bones!"

"Sendo Hamon is a fearsome art. One never to be taken lightly in the right hands. Even though he was warned that the technique would damage him if used too hastily. Metok taught Avelessi many Hamon abilities. Specifically, one that Avelessi altered himself. He turned all the excess sugar in his body from the candy he eats with his Hamon breathing into a pseudo-superpowered sugar rush. He supercharged his muscles and senses for a brief time just for this. Almost with that Hamon allows the body to break the normal limitation of pain and muscle stress." Jotaro explained pointing past the dust and smoke at their charging friend. This was the deciding factor.

"B-but how!? How have you come this far!? You were a crybaby! A worthless runt! Stay away from me!" Trying to quickly change the shape of his gun once more, Ulysses couldn't keep his focus and felt a heavy leg collide with his stomach and spat out having the wind knocked from him.

Avelessi still supercharged with his technique stood before his father with Eminem's leg still in his gut and pointed, "Feel the weight of unforgiveness! My very blood is resonating in an evergrowing orchestra fueled by all the rage you've given me! For my mother! For myself! Feel the crackle of my Hamon beat!" Eminem quickly responded to the order and moving forward to Ulysses with a very loud, 'Hmm!' coming from its lips launched Ulysses directly into the air by his chin with yet another kick. Avelessi followed the launch with a boost from Eminem to get above Ulysses and as quickly as possible Eminem unleashed a savage storm of kicks to Ulysses with him and his Stand calling out with each impact, "KAMA! KAMA! KAMA! KAMA! KAMA! KAMA! KAMA! KAMA!" until they reached the end of their ascent and rolled in the air dropping his leg on Ulysses' face slamming him to the ground, "CAMILLIA!"

A cloud of large dust faded away from the impact point with Avelessi kneeling beside it panting heavily, losing control of his breathing from the after effect of the ability. Everyone remained silent but watched as the silhouette within the smoke was barely moving and twitching profusely, struggling to hold up his balance.

"Y-you... I can't believe this..." Ulysses spoke in a very weak tone, beaten to a pulp with his eye swollen barely eyeing his son next to him.

"Well believe it. You're done now. I've ascended past your expectations. Let today be the reminder of the one you called a failure dear father." His words were cold, shaken, and full of pain.

"Hah. I knew there was always something off about you. You couldn't possibly meet up to my expectations but you've found your own. I'll admit that son. You're not the pathetic waste I kicked around my floor some time ago. But I'm far from your biggest worry. You've far from won and you won't get any further. The arrow was already taken by my men that you imbeciles didn't watch closely enough." Ulysses laughed to himself coughing some blood and spitting up teeth falling back to the ground as his words got weaker and much more slurred.

Jotaro and Johanne looked around for the arrow that pierced Kiba's throat but just as Ulysses said, it was nowhere within the area to be found. Johanne slammed his fist in frustration, Jotaro sighing to himself and tipping his hat, "We'll have to take him back for interrogation."

Avelessi turned once again forcing himself to his feet and sighed walking over to the limp body of his father reaching out his hand, "Come on. This is your last chance at redemption. You may not be able to make up for what you've done to our family. But alas, you can make this city a better place."

Ulysses swatted Avelessi's hand away and spat blood and a tooth at his feet, smirking up to his son. "I respect your sense of justice. You hadn't backed down for a moment. You've earned my respect son. But..." Quickly with his last bit of strength Ulysses called upon his Saturday Night Special in the shape of a Browning once again and moved it to his head with a wide grin, "I won't let you win. I refuse to give you satisfaction."

"Father! No!" Avelessi reached out stumbling over to the limp body of Ulysses but all that echoed past that was a very loud gunshot within the area and a whimpering noise coming from Avelessi.

No one said a thing as they heard the whimpering soon turn into a heart-shattering whale of cries coming from Avelessi as he clenched the top of his father's business suit, they both laid in the pool of blood motionless.

"Johanne. Take Kiba to the car. We'll finish up here." Jotaro gave the notion with a nudge of his finger towards Avelessi, trying to give him a moment to finish the grieving of his last family member.

Johanne nodded taking hold of the unconscious Kiba slowly and steadily making their way out of the building, Avelessi's screams and the clicking of shoes filled the room. Edward, Kaito, and Jotaro remained there to commence with gathering whatever they could from the rest of Ulysses Barlem's belongings that might lead them to their next step in the plan.


	11. Chapter 11: A Concert to forget

In the shimmering sun within another morning over Bodou, our attention seemed to turn to a large building that had been expertly crafted for a company or individual of the utmost significance. The sound of rapid footsteps echoed through the halls of the building followed by a panicked knock.

"E-excuse me, sir! I have a matter of great importance to share with you!" Came from the man at the door, another man dressed in a black suit holding a long wrapped cloth.

A very soft yet sinisterly familiar voice came from the opposite side of the door, "It better be good news. This is a wonderful day I've started out with. You may enter."

The man at the door shook horrendously while his heart was pounding in his chest at the thought of the soon to be reported news. Gripping the knob slowly and steadily his very stomach churning as he opened the door to an overbearing presence, the same radiating nervousness as before. "How may I help you on this day?"

"S-sir... I have s-some very g-g-grave news..." The man's palms became sweaty and stained the cloth seeing the chair swing around the desk and the black silhouette staring at him past the large chair, golden gaze staring through his soul as calmly as ever, "I'm sorry sir but M-mr. Barlem has been eliminated... by Jotaro K-kujoh and his companions."

There was a sole tapping on the desk as the man pushed forward and folded his fingers against the desk, "You know, there should be more to this. I know you haven't come to me empty-handed. Tell me some good news. I don't want to have to take this frustration out so easily."

Quickly without hesitation and fear for the growing anxiety in his being, the cloth fell to the floor and showed the arrow wrapped up, "We retrieved the arrow you gave Mr. Barlem! They haven't gotten their hands on this yet!"

The man he reported this to, The Boss, leaned back in his chair with a soft snicker and stopped his tapping against the desk, "You were smart for this. Unlike that fool. But he's left me horribly uneasy. Do you know why that is?"

Peering past his hair that fell over his face when the question was addressed to him with another swallow, "N-no sir."

"The Rule of Six. The idea that six is the perfect number to achieve inner peace and order. Any more or less will throw off a nice balance. The sum of all its factors equals six, the perfect highest number on a standard die or even considered the symbol of luck, A standard guitar has 6 strings. I would even go as far as to say that there are only six great sins of mankind whereas only a fool could look at Greed as a sin. And Ulysses went and destroyed my balance. I'll have to reform my inner circle. Do not forget this Rule. Learn it well and live by it. But nevertheless, do not bother me further. I'll leave that arrow in your possession. Do we have any other workers in reserve while we make more?"

The man listened and felt strangely enlightened by the Boss' words but still didn't shake his ironclad stance as to refuse eye contact, "Y-yes sir. We still have plenty in our roster. I'll put out word immediately. As a matter of fact, we have one that just came back from a tour, we'll send them out immediately. "

"That's what I like to hear. Production at its finest. They've only hindered me to such a minor degree that is laughable at best. Now go on. You have work to do." The boss spoke with a turn of his chair just barely giving off a glimpse of bright white hair to the man. He ignored it and couldn't comment as his stomach just barely stopped its churning and walked out of the room with a cell phone in hand.

Meanwhile at Johanne's home around a week later...

Birds chirping over the home of the Kamijou family, the sun beading down on the large tent they erected in the backyard. As we come in closer to the tent there was a loud crash within it.

"Son of a bitch! Listen here old man I'm not spotting you this time! That match was bullcrap and you know it!" Johanne's voice came loudly from the tent with a hearty laugh from his father, Noboru.

"Now now! Language my boy! You know damn well your mother raised you better. Especially honoring challenges between men. Don't go thinking because you got a couple of battle scars you can get away from our bonding time." Noboru slammed his elbow on the table once again with a crack of his fingers.

Metok listened in the background with Jotaro beside him reading a magazine about new coral discoveries completely ignoring it while Metok, on the other hand, seemed to impatiently tap his fingers against his rippling arm.

"Last round! Best two out of three! No cheating this time!" Johanne slammed his elbow back on the table as well grabbing his father's hand. Looking closer at Johanne, still covered in bandages and without his shirt on for daily treatment from Metok.

Noboru gripped his son's hand tightly as both of them exchanged a manly glare, their muscles flexed roughly going back and forth with their match of pure endurance. Back and forth the arms swung between them, sweat collecting around their arms and the table until Noboru's arm began to quiver, then he grinned shifting his palm some and brushing his fingers over Johanne's knuckles which caused him to lose some of his focus and fight back snickering.

"H-hey! What did I just say!?" Johanne trying his best to hold on but he knew this trick. His father had known since he was a boy that his hands were a struggling sensitive point for him being ticklish.

"What do you mean Johanne? It's only a fair game!" Another laugh escaped Noboru's lips while slowly overpowering his son until it was stopped immediately by a sudden change in aggression despite the brushing.

An aura was radiating around Johanne's body as his eyes were shaded over by his hair hiding them, feeling his Stand's arm extend through his own and smash his father through the table in a swift motion with a sigh, "Fair game my ass."

Quickly recovering from the surprise and popping off the floor, Noboru jerked Johanne from the chair by his shirt and glared, "Now you call me a cheater! Pitiful son!"

"Enough you two!" Metok finally intervened between them moving to grab them by the ears and scolding them like a restless parent, "Such a trivial competition and you are making a mess of my tent. Out!" Then tossed them out of the tent both rubbing their heads and laughing at one another.

"You know Johanne. I'm pretty damn proud of you." Noboru said reaching back to his crushed up pack of cigarettes and shuffling through the box for one.

"What are you on about old man? Finally kicking your ass?" Johanne pulled out one of Avelessi's special lollipops and placed it into his lips twirling it around.

"I know I should be tripping a little more. I call your mother here and there and she talks her head off about how you're always coming home beaten and bloody. I get that. I do. I'm your father for Pete's sake, I have to help treat you. Tears me up every time and I know I can't stop you. But, the way I look at it. You're shaping yourself as a man. The road you chose to walk is a rough one. Taking the weight of an entire city on your shoulders. Makes me proud to be your father. Even if I'm not actually your father. So, I wanted to give you something that I got." Noboru reached into his pocket pulling out an envelope handing it to Johanne.

Johanne gained a shimmer in his eye hearing those words from his father reaching out for the envelope, opening it up, and pulling out several sheets of paper letting out a gasp, "N-no fuckin' way..."

"Yeaaaah turns out we won some kind of random drawing or something. A local pop star that got big came back into town. Ko-Kohana Miki was it? Front row seats. Four tickets. All you- WOAH!" Noboru's sentence was interrupted by Johanne tackled him over and hugging him tight, which brought a smile to Noboru's face.

"Man how did you know I'd wanted to see her show Dad!? These tickets are so hard to come by! Who just gives these out!? Thanks a ton, man." Johanne hops off his Dad offering him help off the ground. Still smoking his cigarette and laughing, he accepts the gesture and starts walking back toward the house.

"You kids have a good time. Figured after almost getting offed one too many times you could use a break. I think I'll go have me a nap. All this worrying has a man sick and tired. Plus Old guy a few blocks down isn't too happy about the shitty job I did on his car. I gotta negotiate that. Later, son."

"Senere Far..." Johanne spoke the phrase softly in Danish then quickly running to the front of the yard where he saw Kiba who was still bandages as well juggling a soccer ball and Avelessi doing some meditating in the shade. "Hey, guys! Check this out!" He held the tickets up quickly, making Kiba and Avelessi crowd to them.

"Oho shit! Where did a scrub like you pick up a couple pieces of gold like this!? It's one of our favorite local beauties! Tell me these are real." Kiba said with such an excited tone he was basically salivating at the sight.

"Dear me! These must have cost a fortune Johanne. Surely you aren't just showing these off. Would you mind if I accompanied you?" Avelessi managed to put some perk into his voice after almost a week of solid meditation, his face had seemed to lose some color and spirit it's luster after the warehouse.

"I'd be insulted..." Johanne said kicking Kiba in the leg after his comment about him being a scrub, "If you didn't accept this trip with me. We could all use some time off. Things have been... hard lately." Johanne smiled down at Avelessi who whole-heartedly returned it. "You included." Adding to his remark looking up at the tree that Avelessi was meditating under, Kaito was hanging from the branch with his arms crossed over his chest.

Falling indefinitely next to Johanne with his posture perfected Kaito spoke while pushing his long hair from his eyes, "I've never been to a 'concert' before. This will be a very new experience for me. I'll have no clue how to behave. It does not seem like my sort of crowd. Are you sure you want me to accompany you?"

Kiba walked up between them putting his arms around them and snickering, "Ah get the robot act out of here! Of course, we do. It's only a matter of time before we get to that concert and meet all those crazy fangirls and Kohana herself!" Snickering with his imagination running wild he slipped up grabbing his ticket and stumbled over, "Ahhh damnit my leg!"

Everyone else laughed at him as he squirmed around with his injuries taking their own individual tickets, Johanne rose his and proclaimed proudly, "Tomorrow then! We meet here at 7 to head to the concert." They all rose their tickets in cheer.

The very next day just before the meet-up time...

Johanne was standing in his room outside of his usual uniform attire fixing his hair in the mirror, sighing under his breath "Man I swear all this fighting is killing my hair. Such a wonderful gift from Mother."

Kiba was tossing shirts from Johanne's closet while listening to him complain about his looks, "Gah! What's it going to matter anyway? No one's going to notice you. Ah! Perfect!" He popped out of the closet dressed in cargo shorts and a mesh shirt with two shirts in hand, putting one of them on to reveal it was a fan shirt for Ko-Kohana Miki and tossed the other to Johanne.

"H-hey! Look we got front row man. I don't want to seem weird. I mean not that I don't want to support her music or anything. But give me a break dude!" Johanne sighed reluctantly as Kiba only gave him a cocky silent stare showing that he was about to toss another round of insults at Johanne until he finally put on the shirt with his strapped leather jacket over it and his shredded jeans.

"Now we're looking good. Let's head ou-" Kiba's sentence was cut off by the door swinging open and Avelessi stepping in. "Jeez, man do you have to dress flashy everywhere you go?"

Avelessi wasn't sporting his usual suit this time. It was now a velvety sweater with a 'Ko-Kohana' scarf on and a very well-fitting fedora that just peaked out his gelled blue hair and a pair of black dress pants, "Dress to impress I suppose? Besides, I can't let those listening always think I'm ready. They have to think we're not watching them watch us! Being 'easy' as some might say. I refuse to be monitored!" Avelessi remarked turning around and heading to the living room.

"There he goes again with the conspiracy theories. You know I really hope he doesn't bring that up too much at the concert." Both of them spoke to one another until they returned the corner to see Kaito and Avelessi talking to one another and examined Kaito's new look.

Kaito stood by the door out of his usual ninja get-up as well with his black hair draped back with some over his eye, a very slouchy and loose long sleeve shirt with black skinny jeans. Standing there tugging at the bandana around his neck, "This is indeed far from my element. Megumi and Edward helped me pick this out. How does it look? I don't have much casual clothing."

Kiba and Johanne stood in silence for several moments before giving a thumbs up, "Certainly isn't what we'd expect you to wear..." The two joined in a laugh along with Avelessi while Kaito stood there in utter confusion scratching his head.

"Alright, everyone! Let's head out. Thanks again for driving Kaito. You're a life saver." He only nodded following the rest of the group to the van they once again borrowed from Megumi for the night making their way to Downtown Upper Bodou towards the flashing lights in the sky for a wonderful night out with the guys.

The group pulled up to the lot to see it literally packed with fans of the young Popstar. Everyone excitedly hopped out of the van and joined together in the line to gain admission to the concert. Avelessi happily bounced with his ticket in hand very anxious to get in and see the show until he was bumped by a much larger guy with a very promiscuous woman on his arm who knocked over his hat and made the woman giggle. "H-hey! That's very rude of you, sir! I demand an apology immediately!"

"Hah! Screw off pipsqueak. Let the real big shows through." Avelessi stepped forward with a grit of his teeth only for Kiba to step forward and place his hand on his shoulder and point at the man.

"Yeah, we got a couple of V.I.P backstage passes. We're here for early entry. Make it snappy." The very jerkish man said reaching into his pockets to pull out the passes but shortly began to panic, "What the fuck is this? Where are my passes!?"

"Sir I'll need you to hurry, you're holding up the li-" The ticket booth manager and bouncer said to to the man who was rudely interrupted by the woman.

"Shut the hell up! Can't you see he's looking? Such terrible service. Show him, baby!" She crossed her arms confidently with her nose in the air watching as the man started sweating heavily and shaking.

"Take these idiots away. Keep the line moving." With a wave of his hand, a few more guards rounded up the man and his girl who flailed around instantly in anger.

"Screw you pigs! I was robbed! Let us through!" The man screamed while being carried away. He caught sight of Avelessi who stuck his tongue out at him with a snicker. His courage instantly shattered as he heard his girl next to him scream about him being a broke, lying loser.

"And now you ready for a magic trick little buddy?" Kiba slapped his hands together with his newly developed stand appearing behind him and with a wave of its hand over Kiba's the two backstage passes appeared between his palms, "Jya Jyan~!"

Avelessi jumped in place clapping excited at the trick that Kiba had performed, "That's simply amazing! You've been practicing I see. They certainly got what they deserved. Go ahead and keep them You and Johanne are much bigger fans than I. You've entertained me enough as is."

"Why thank ya, little dude. C'mon we're up next." Kiba pats Avelessi's back while the group as a whole moved to get their admission into the concert having their own separate chats in between.

The boys got as close as they could to watch the crowd around them grow larger as more passionate fans filled the arena. The area around the stage started to dim and a loud, peppy female voice came over the speakers, "IS EVERYONE'S HEART IN FULL BLOOM TONIGHT!?"

Kiba and Johanne approached the bar that separated the stage and the crowd with wide smiles the entire arena seemed to have gone ballistic the second the familiar voice came on. Kaito with his arms crossed looked around with a very distraught look on his face while Avelessi happily sipped on a soda and bounced behind his friends.

From the center of the stage came a large oddly shaped object that rose higher until it was in plain sight. "HERE IT COMES!" Johanne and Kiba exclaimed together. The object soon unfolded one piece at a time like a flower slowly bursting to life as a girl with bright blue hair dressed in an incredibly frilly bright pink schoolgirl uniform but extended further like a dress. She wore bright pink stockings and white ballet shoes, a large pink bow tied on top of her head, her face expertly painted in fine makeup. She soon threw several kisses to the crowd as a signal making the lights flash and a large number of shimmering flowers hidden in the outfit began to illuminate her figure.

She rose from the flower with a microphone pursed in her hands taking slow struts to the audience and with a loud voice filled with positivity and life, "LET'S HEAR THOSE CHEERS! SPREAD YOUR LOVE LIKE BEAUTIFUL FLOWER PETALS IN THE WIND!" Following the declaration, the crowd all together began to chant 'KO-KOHANA!' including Johanne and Kiba in the front. With the growth of the cheers, several more girls sprang from behind the large structure at the center and began dancing around Ko-Kohana leading to her beginning her first song.

Kaito kept to himself being bumped and pushed around the crowd with the increasing cheering, his eye twitching in annoyance but trying to keep his composure for the sake of the group.

Halfway through the concert, the crowd was absolutely raging with cheers after several outfit changes from Ko-Kohana and her backup dancers and even an amazing fireworks show. The bumping got closer and closer to the rails knocking Kiba and Johanne against it several times. Kiba leaned over and spoke through the screaming and music, "Hey! Let's cash in these passes man! The mosh pit is getting rough." Johanne's grin sprung wind and motioned his friend.

As the two swam through the crowd Johanne kept his eyes on Kohana who happened to lock eyes with him in the middle of her song and winked at him. Johanne sprung an unexpected blush and hurried to the side being stopped by the security but quickly dispatched them showing the passes around their necks. Kiba and Johanne spent the rest of the show behind the stage with another small group of fans getting a much better viewing on the concert.

Around an hour or so later, the concert finally came to an end and Ko-Kohana bid her crowd goodbye with several fluttery kisses and bows to them before skipping off to the V.I.P members. "A very special thank you to you all. I can always tell who my biggest fans are!"

The group paraded her with questions and got their autographs one at a time until she finally reached the boys, "I could see you two cheering the loudest at the front. I'm glad to have you both!"

Johanne stumbled over his words as he tried to speak but ended up bowing his head losing track of his thoughts.

"What this idiot means is that we're huge fans of yours! Always have since you made your first big break at the Local Music Festival! Right jackass?" Kiba taunted his friend pushing him forward with a snicker.

"Y-yeah! You have no idea how long we'd been wanting to meet you. Especially considering we found out you grew up here too. It uhh would be an incredible honor if you would sign our shirts." Johanne spoke in stammers but ended with a smile. Which earned him a giggle from Ko-Kohana.

"I'll do you both one better." She reached for the marker she used on the other fans and wrote her signature on Johanne's shirt then moved closer planting a kiss on his cheek. Then she moved on to Kiba giving him both of the same. "You both show your faces again! Keep the love blooming boys!" Turning on her heel and walking back behind the stage.

Both Johanne and Kiba stood there stunned for a moment until they finally snapped out of it and jumped hi-fiving one another as well as their Stands joined in, "ALRIGHT!" Playfully shoving one another as they were guided to the exits by the guards.

Meanwhile, in the back of the stage, Ko-Kohana made her way to her dressing room and turned a sign on the door with the kanji for 'Do Not Disturb.' Once in the room, she sat at her mirror she pulled out a cellphone and dialed one of the first numbers, awaiting an answer. "Yes, sir it's me. The concert is over and they came just like you said. It was a lot easier than expected. They came right to me. I'll be sure this goes off without a flaw. I'm the perfect pop star, remember Boss?" She let out a soft giggle snickering into her reflection in the mirror, right after a shadow appeared behind her of a multiple armed, multiple faced figured that wrapped its arms around Ko-Kohana's figure.

Later in the night Johanne and Kiba were still fighting off one another at his door, "Man this is going to be a night to remember. You don't mind if I keep this do ya bud?" Kiba asked as he strolled down the walkway holding his fist out.

"What kind of friend would I be if I took that away? I'll catch you, tomorrow mate!" Reaching his fist out as well matching his fist bump and made his way into his house seeing Kaito and Avelessi passed out with his father in the living room. Johanne returned to his room, jumping onto his bed despite the mess Kiba made, and rubbing his cheek with the lipstick mark on it in satisfaction. "Yeah. Never washing this again."

Hours later in the night, Johanne was in deep sleep sprawled out in his bed with his head cocked to the side. In the darkness of his room, the lipstick mark shined and pulsated eventually spreading down to his neck and eye. Soon after his body rose from the bed and his eyes slowly parting open to reveal them glowing a bright pink...


	12. Chapter 12: Bad Romance

The very next day after the concert, an almost unforgettable experience for Johanne and his friends, He finds himself waking up to the beautiful fluttery sounds of birds chirping outside his window.

His eyes slowly opening to the rays of sun past the blinds, Johanne moves from his bed with a groan, "Holy crap man. Did I mosh too hard or something? I'm sore as hell..." Pushing out of his bed and walking into the bathroom up to the hall from his room, he turned on the light and stared into the mirror in slight shock.

"Huh. That's weird." Moving closer to the mirror as he brushed his blonde and silver hair away from his cheek revealing the lipstick print on his cheek had completely disappeared, "Might have wiped it off in my sleep I guess. Oh shit..." Upon further inspection, he saw a long dried scratch along his collar. "I slept like a damn beast last night. I'll just clean it up I've had worse. "

After cleaning the scratch and checking the rest of his body for the same marks, Johanne made his way into the kitchen where he saw Kaito drinking coffee, Avelessi eating cereal, and Jotaro reading the newspaper. "Morning everyone. Anyone else feeling that night after pain?"

Kaito and Avelessi responded with shaking their heads but Avelessi spoke up, "Ah but it will certainly be a time to remember! My first concert!"

"Hmm. I wasn't so sure. I couldn't really enjoy myself. All the shoving and bumping around. I almost attacked some of the other guests." Kaito responded taking another sip of his coffee.

"How about you Jotaro? I'm sure you were busy last night while we were gone." Johanne said grabbing an apple out of the fridge and pulling up a chair to the table.

"Oi, Johanne. Speaking of busy, I know you were out last night. Did you happen to see anything? Anything out of the ordinary?" Jotaro asked lowering the newspaper.

"Hmm? Not that I can really think of. Just a bunch of swooning fans. Why do you ask?" Jotaro tossed the apple up and down a few times between his bites.

"You might want to see this." Placing the newspaper down with a page folded open with a large article saying 'Multiple large groups rioting in the streets of Bodou City! Lots of property damage and vandalism! Police investigating'.

"What the hell... Things were pretty wild at the concert but nothing like this. We just kinda left after the concert was over." When Johanne finished his sentence there was a rapid knocking on the door. "Hold on! Jeez, who could that-"

As Johanne went to open his front door, as fast as lightning, Kiba rushed past the door shoving Johanne away and slamming the door. "Dude! You're not gonna believe this shit!"

"Whoa calm down, would you? Take a breather man." Leading his friend to the table who was still in a shaken state.

"Look, Johanne. For whatever reason, Benkei Han is after me! What the hell did I even do!? A couple of his boys were chasing me screaming about a car! The guy is tripping man." Kiba sat down at the table for a minute with a deep sigh.

"Ah shit, that's not good. We don't want to start anything with a gang leader. We gotta get that sorted out." Johanne spoke pressing his fingers to his chin giving a few taps in thought.

"I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding. Don't let that crap ruin the good mood you built up last night." Johanne's father Noboru walked in from the back of the house with a dirty white T-shirt covered in motor oil. "His old man is a customer of mine. I'll offer a few discounts to cover whatever damage happened. Considering it your birthday present Kiba."

"Gee thanks pops. Damn, I need a chaser for that chase." Kiba let out a long sigh pulling his head from the table and felt Johanne's fist slam into his arm.

"Buck up ya punk. Let's head over to Megumi's place! Kaito, Avelessi. You guys in?" He said walking over to the coat rack and grabbing his usual school jacket but letting it hang open with his Ko-Kohana T-shirt still showing.

"How lovely! I could fancy a shake for breakfast. Master and I don't have training for a couple of hours." Avelessi chimed in with glee in his tone.

"Hmm. I've been meaning to try that Root Beer Float. Fine. I'll come. I have things I need to pass on to Edward about our old turfs anyway."Kaito rested the coffee mug on the table and walked to the door.

With the group together they left Johanne's home with a loud send-off from Noboru. Along the way, the group tried their best to keep as low a profile as possible while moving through the open streets. It was more than evident to Johanne that what he was reading in the newspaper was true. There were broken windows in several shops, spray painted walls, smashed up cars, and several signs ripped off poles and streets. It was truly a mess. Police riddled the streets with several other civil workers trying to make good on the repairs. Kiba quickly hid his face in the event that he would be blamed for another mishap.

After their short walk, the gang made it to Megumi's parlor to see Edward finishing serving a nice couple in the booth and overheard a conversation within the booth, "Yeah hun, it's hard to believe it... My insurance said they'll cover it. Sure is shitty I have to go so long without my car because some fanboy punks want to pull pranks."

They made note of the comment walking to the counter and taking their usual seats, "Morning Edward... Lots of uhh commotion huh?"

Their friend let out a sigh and greeting them with a bow, "Morning lads. As you can see, it's rather busy already. What can I do you for?"

"The usual from everyone. I'm paying. And have you seen anything weird lately Edward? Any sign of maybe an enemy stand causing this?" Johanne said sliding the appropriate price for the treats over the counter.

"Yeah man! I wake up one minute and all of a sudden I'm just about ready to get my ass jumped by a gang leader! It's crazy." Kiba added to Johanne's statement tucking his head over his shoulder to watch the streets.

Edward thought to himself about all he's reading lately in the shared reports while writing down all the orders, "Not that I can think of really. It might be just another gang you think? I've heard they have started surfacing more since... You know..."

Avelessi quietly folded his thumbs over one another and lowered his head in silence. Suddenly a news report flashed over the television over the counter.

"Breaking News! Several street surveillance cameras have captured some rather distorted images through several store security cameras and traffic cams. We have exclusive footage of some of these images that we'll be showing now." All of the crew turned their attention to the display. Several blurry shots were seen of large groups of teenagers and young adults ravaging the streets in a group. Flash after flash they could see the many recognizable places being attacked. Finally, they got to some of the ending images and their eyes widen when they see silhouettes that if stared at close enough they could see very familiar figures in jackets and shirts from the concert, one with long bright hair smashing a car window and the other a shorter haired individual spray painting a wall next to it. Then going back to clipping a few more other groups, "Police are still trying to decipher the images and looking for the culprits of the attacks. Stay tuned for active reports on repairs and updates to suspects. This has been Bodou News."

The channel was changed very shortly after with everyone darting their eyes around to one another until Johanne spoke up, "N-no fuckin' way... right? Kiba?"

He turned his head very slowly to see Kiba with his eyes widened, filled with fear, palms sweating and his breathing was labored, "Y-y-yeah... Totally not... That can't be... I didn't just pick myself out of a clip... Doing my very own signature tag..."

Avelessi swallowed loudly and reached out with a half smile, "Maybe its just a misunderstanding... Like your father said Johanne, right Kaito?"

Kaito quietly pushed his scarf back over his mouth shutting his eyes and crossing his arms, "I'm not a man who lives in delusions. I do not believe my eyes deceived me. That was them." Following with pointing to them.

Edward slid the drinks and shakes along the counter and moved over to Kaito, "I would bet my last blade on that too. I can't deny what we all just saw. What happened to you boys? Did you leave last night?"

Johanne starting to panic in confusion himself pushing out of his seat and placed his hand over his chest, "I went to bed man! I have no idea what that's about!"

"Johanne. Settle down. We don't want attention drawn to us." Edward said offering a smile to another customer then turning glaring his eyes then at Johanne. He quietly complied with the order.

Kiba rested his head against the table and groaned loudly, "So Benkei and his boys saw me last night. But I don't remember a damn thing... I was on my couch last and when I woke up. This is bullshit man."

"Maybe you were sleepwalking!" Avelessi suggested with a long sip of the milkshake which earned him a disheartened glare from Kiba and Johanne, "Or maybe we just need to figure something out. Maybe we ran into a stand user at the concert?"

Johanne sighed stirring his straw in his shake losing his mind in thought, "That's the thing I'm worried about. We were around so many people and we let our guard down. It could have been anyone."

"And I used my Stand last night as well. So if they were a Stand user they could have picked me out easily. Such an idiot." Kiba rose his head from the table and took a drink of cola.

"Let's just be aware if it happens again. They are setting Johanne and Kiba up to appear as criminals but the cameras didn't get too clearly on them. No faces. Just bodily figures. If we can manage to stay out of this long enough without further interference I'm sure they'll be alright." Kaito turned in with a delighted hum trying some of his Root Beer Float.

"Alright. For now, I think we should lay low off the streets man. Probably for the best." Johanne subconsciously brushed his hand across his cheek which caught the attention of Kaito but didn't bother to mention it.

"Kaito and I have been looking in on our replacements. We still have a few bugs around the boss' control." Edward turned his attention as Kaito placed a couple of photos down some of the same men they saw at the race track.

"I've learned that they are actively creating new users but the arrow is under personal guard by these two. They've become a lot more prominent and showing up at the boss' locations. I don't know what they are capable of but I know they hold just as much influence as Ulysses did. Keep your eye out." Kaito said passing the picture around to the sobbing duo who simply tossed it back and continued their sulking.

Later that day around the time the ice cream parlor began to close, Johanne's group parted ways with Edward and began their long walk back to his house.

"Well looks like we're in the clear bud. No sign of the cops or Benkei. Maybe whatever happened didn't last." Johanne said moving over to Kiba and slinging his arm around his shoulder.

"I hope you're right. The guy wasn't going to let me go without a kicked ass." Kiba looked around at the street lights beginning to turn on and the strangely large amounts of people around the streets. "Pretty crowded out here still."

"Maybe people are on the lookout tonight. Who knows? I wouldn't worr- Ah! AAAAAAH!" Johanne stopped midsentence and held his head starting to lose his balance quickly holding onto a pole.

"Johanne! Are you alright?" Avelessi quickly made his way over to his friend's side to check on him when just as quickly Kiba was doing the same but dropping to his knees groaning loudly.

"F-Fuck! My head! I can't-! I can't!" His breathing was intensifying with his heart racing out of his chest.

Kaito perked up to the reaction they both had and turned his head to see several others along the streets starting to collapse and hold their heads and their concerned companions trying to tend to them. "They're dropping like flies... This is definitely the work of an enemy stand. Without a doubt." Readying himself for a potential attack Kaito's gauntlet, Five Finger Death Punch, took shape over his hand forming another one of his daggers and scanning for suspicious activity.

"W-what do we do!? The look like they're really in pain!" Avelessi held on to Johanne trying to calm it but the groans and small screams he let out were slowly subsiding.

Kiba and Johanne slowly rose from the ground together, along with the rest of the group of people around them. Like a switch, all of their eyes opened at once with a pink glow and all turned around silently walking together down the block.

"J-Johanne...? Kiba? Where are you guys going? Are you alright?" Avelessi's questions fell on deft ears. They continued to walk down the street with the rest of them until they both walked past closed dry cleaners. Johanne's body seemed limp and heavy almost like a zombie but summoned his stand just the same and had it punch into the window shattering it. "Oh goodness! Kaito we have to do something!"

"You're right. We do. We need to get them out of this crowd." As he began to move there was a car explosion about a block away from there erupting in a large fire, "Before that police arrive..."

Johanne and Kiba had been walking side to side with one another smashing down telephone poles and breaking into cars with each one they passed. Kaito had dashed quickly up to Kiba's side and grab his arm but with a quick reaction, his Stand sent a swift punch to Kaito's jaw knocking him into a tumble against the ground.

Avelessi tried the same with Johanne but his path was quickly blocked with a large clear pane wall, smacking against it harder and screaming out his name.

The sound of police sirens filled the air while more explosions seemed to go off in the streets, Kaito rubbed his jaw and sighed "So I really have to resort to this. Five Finger Death Punch. Accelerate." A bright surge flowed through the gauntlet seemed to cause a shiver in Kaito's arm but quickly as a drop of rain, he dashed through the rioting crowd and behind Johanne and Kiba chopping their necks quickly causing them to slump over quickly.

Kaito groaned but pushed past the sensation and grabbed onto Johanne slinging him over his shoulder, "Get Kiba. We're leaving this place now."

"How did you speak up on them like that? You were like a blur." He rushed to Kiba's side with the help of Eminem hunching him over his shoulder.

"A little secret of my stand. I draw my energy from calcium and bone marrow. If I drain my own, I can move very fast. Almost like a special effect in a ninja movie. This way." Kaito hurried them back down an alley and cut past several more people walking the same way and attacking them lazily with their blaring pink eyes.

After a good few minutes of running away from the crowd, they found themselves behind the ice cream parlor once again. Kaito fished an emergency key from behind a panel by the door and carried the boys in with Avelessi.

Sitting Kiba down on the bed in the rest area they'd previously used for medical care, Avelessi sighed heavily. "So the cameras really were right... What's causing this? Why were all those people glowing pink and going crazy? Dear me don't tell me I was correct! All those years of planning for the mass abductions and they start with the destruction of our towns!"

"Calm down if you'd please. I'm starting to notice something." Kaito walked over to Kiba and Johanne's unconscious figures and turned their heads, pulling down their collars to reveal the pink vein lines running from the kiss mark on their cheek.

"Where did they get those from!? I hadn't even noticed those!" Avelessi moved closer trying to brush his palm over one of them feeling a spark hit his finger.

"I noticed something very similar to this at the concert... Some of the fans had mimicked marks on their faces and necks. I wasn't enjoying myself at the concert so I just sat back and watched this to try and gain some interest in their culture. But my lack of initial interest might have pushed me away as a candidate for this spell. My only assumption for your case would be your height. You're much shorter so I'm sure you were overshadowed by other members of the audience."

"Hmm. As much as I'd like to be offended by that I'm thankful... We have to find the Stand User and stop them. But how do we find them?" Avelessi put forward moving to check both of them for wounds and study the kiss marks.

"Everyone in the crowd was headed for a certain direction. I couldn't think of any other particular location that would be relevant than the stadium. The attacks weren't random, they are moving their destruction in that direction. So we'll need to make it their tomorrow night. The police have already been deployed and we can't move as freely as we like. We move just before the last showing tomorrow and blend into the crowd. Are you prepared for this?" Kaito felt himself slump to the floor against the wall with his gauntlet fading from his arm to rest after the use of his dash.

Avelessi silently nodded and locked the door behind them and settling everyone in to watch the door and their friends for late night activity.

After spending the entire night on watch the next day they spent the entire early morning explaining the situation to Megumi and Edward on why they'd intruded so late. The rest of the day was spent with Johanne and Kiba recuperating after the draining effects of the ability.

Behind the parlor, Kaito and Edward prepared the van for moving into the stadium once again for their operation. "Are we all set? I think we'll only get one shot at this. This is the last day Ko-Kohana Miki is supposed to be in town." Edward asked climbing into the driver's seat.

"We don't have much of a choice. If we don't get this problem solved who knows how aggressive those under this influence will become." Kaito joined in the passenger seat with his arms crossed sighing into his scarf.

"We're ready to go as well. Johanne and Kiba hadn't had any reactions since last night and the marks vanished. Maybe they only active at night." Avelessi joined the group in the seat behind them with a very soon following of the two.

"Let's get this over with." Kiba's tone was much angrier than usual, pushing further into the seat with his hand propped up.

Johanne scratched his head and fixed his ponytail after their long rest, "You know after what you guys described. I think I have some idea and it's far from what I hope it is..."

"And what would that be? We need everything we have to go on so we can narrow down targets. You've got a couple of good hitmen on your side lad." Edward added starting the car, gazing out at the windows as the sun began to set already.

"Well... We didn't feel anything around the crowd. It couldn't have been random. The way you described the mark and where it was. That's where Kiba and I both were kissed by Ko-Kohana behind the stage... You don't think, do you?" Johanne glanced into the mirror at Edward some concern lingering in his eyes.

"I'm afraid so. If she's a Stand User that was sent after us. She won't stop until you're dead or incarcerated. Better to make the pre-emptive strike. Let's move." The van began to roll down the street making their way to the shining lights in the sky like the night they'd first gone.

Edward pulled around the back of the stadium in a dark corner. "Just watch Kaito and I go to work." Both of them pushed out of the seats and snuck around the large tour bus that had Ko-Kohana's face plastered over it. The three watched as Kaito and Edward snuck around the bus waiting for two roadies to come out of the bus holding large bags. The men were grabbed from behind and quickly knocked out by strangulation and pulling them back onto the bus for a minute. Once they stepped out of the bus they were dressed in the uniform for the roadie crew waving their hands to the rest.

"Those guys are kinda badass..." Kiba mentioned with his eyes slightly widened. Johanne and Avelessi nodded in agreeance then hopped out of the van following them through the customs of entry.

As they made it through the few other members doing maintenance on the stage the music started to pick up, it seems they caught her in the middle of the show. "You stop there!"

Everyone halted dead in their tracks at the calling of the unknown male voice, Edward turned around to check and saw there was a guard approaching them, "How can we help you? You caught us in the middle of something here mate."

"What are you guys doing? Who are all these people? Everyone's working and you're screwing around. What's the big deal?" The man sounded furious and overly suspicious of their appearance.

The other panicked slightly and prepared to move if need be but Kaito stepped forward, "We were told to start gathering fans behind the stage for a meeting. These were some special cases with passes. Here you go." Kaito held a hand full of folded papers with his usual blank expression. Everyone kept quietly bits of sweat dripping down their necks.

"Hmm. My mistakes, we're almost at the halftime. Keep out of the way. Make sure they stay with the rest." The man tossed the pieces of paper back to Kaito and rolled up his clipboard, disappearing into the crowd of workers.

"Holy shit this is going way too smooth..." Johanne commented to the rest brushing his forehead.

"Is it really now? Or should I make the experience one you'll truly never forget?" Everyone turned around to see Ko-Kohana with her arms locked together behind her back with a wide smile.

"You! Listen I don't know who you are, but you've got some explaining to do!" Avelessi stepped forward pointing to her with a glare.

She giggled in response, taking a slow strut past them with a good distance in between, her hips switching about in bliss, "Whatever do you mean? I'm just an innocent idol. Here to sing and dance for all. To get rid of every obstacle that gets in my way to #1!"

"What a reveal. You're going to stop what you're doing. You're tearing this city apart. What right do you have?" Johanne stepped forward with his Stand armed behind him and head cocked slightly to intensify his stare.

"Such a mean look! It's going to break my little heart. But you think you pose a threat here? Don't make me laugh! Observe!" With a snap of her fingers, a figure appeared behind her. It was a large pink robotic body with no legs and a long veil covering where the legs would be, multiple long teal ribbons wrapped around its chest with a slight showing of cleavage, its head seemed to have no real shape but a white sphere surrounded by three red and pink masks all of crying woman one much more broken than the other until a smiling one with tears streaming down. It's six arms tucking around Ko-Kohana, "As you can see, I haven't come unprepared. I know you've felt the effects of my beloved Bad Romance. She's such a treat that the boss blessed me with."

"And you're going to use her to snap whatever the hell you did to us out. Or we're going to embarrass you in front of this entire crowd. I'm not afraid to kick a girl's ass." Kiba stepped forward as well his stand promptly forming as well tipping its hat forward.

"Ah, you seem to underestimate me far too much. I'm not your average everyday popstar you know. Come, my loves!" Ko-Kohana spread her arms out wide, Bad Romance mimicking her motion immediately after. The kiss marks on Johanne and Kiba began to rapidly pulsate and spread making them drop to their knees in pain. "Oh shoot! It seems it takes a little longer for other Stand Users hmm? No matter." There was a large rumbling along the stage that sounded like the echo of footsteps. Many members of the roadie crew dropped whatever they had in their hands and flashed brightly with the pink glare. Around the corner, a large group of fans seemed to have poured into the back and stand before her.

"Oh, you've got to be tuggin' my damned leg." Edward shifted his position to match backs with Kaito as they were slowly surrounded. Avelessi tossed off his faux scarf and jacket readying himself, his breathing whistling through the air.

"Protect me my loves! A special show is waiting for you all!" The crowd began to rush the group in large sums. The shaking and shoving of the group of zombified people swung their arms and rapidly attacked with their props. Each member dispatched each and every one of them that came their way one after another.

"Do your best to not fatally wound them! They're innocent and under her spell just the same as Johanne and Kiba. We just need to knock them out!" Edward ordered the group, slipping around to a couple of the fans sending his elbow into their heads knocking them over swift while dodging incoming strikes.

Kaito stopped in his tracks immediately as he was about to plunge a knife into the throat of one of the larger guards he hand tucked into a headlock with F.F.D.P "Hmm. I'm glad you mentioned that before I continued. Very well." Squeezing a little harder the man eventually lost consciousness.

Ko-Kohana circled the crowd until she was away from the stage and by her dressing room door, "Oh this is too perfect. Hehe! I couldn't have asked for a more entertaining turn out. Don't kill them. Just rough them up. I have my own business to attend to."

Avelessi's body was flickering in a shimmering glow from his hamon energy as a crowd of possessed adults formed around him, Eminem took a crouch below him. He used its back as a springboard and spun on his hands with his legs out, a high-speed twirling kick launching them back, "Johanne! Kiba! You have to snap out of it! We need you guys!"

Still struggling and fighting on the ground, Johanne's breathing grew heavy and showed that he was doing his best to fight the mark. He slowly came to his feet only one of his eyes glowing that bright pink struggling to take a step forward which brought a smile to Avelessi's face as he fought off the impending threats.

"Oh, this just won't do! Bad Romance! LoveGames!" Her stand's arms quickly forming a large crossed heart shape behind her and its masks rotating quickly. As Johanne began to turn around more he was quickly sent flying by a punch from behind him and fell at Ko-Kohana's feet.

Edward holding back a man with a microphone stand trying to pin him glanced over and opened his eyes wide, "You're joking right... This stand is damned annoying..."

Avelessi and Kaito turned their back to see Kiba now standing up with his body aggressively pulsing, his once pink glow was now a burning red. Stepping closer to Johanne, He picked him up off the floor with a loud grunt and send a barrage of punches to his chest knocking him over.

"Fight it! You have to fight it! Kiba! Johanne!" Avelessi felt himself being grabbed by two more men while a couple of women flipped open a knife and a nail file walking up to him, "A-ah! Stay away! Mother warned me about women like you!" Eminem emerged once again and sent a devastating kick to the heads of the women and smacked the men holding him across the head with his cane, A-ah... Thank goodness, Eminem." His stand struck his pose with the cane pressed to the floor, only nodding and letting out a soft yet righteous 'Hmm!' to his protected user.

Johanne rose from his feet slowly after the punch and twitched some with his body slumped over. Kiba approached him once again ready to throw another punch but was knocked backward to their original position by a much faster punch from M.C.R.

"Took you long enough. As if I needed to worry my ability is absolute!" She let out another wicked giggle with her palm covering her lips and leaned against the door.

Johanne's limp body approached Kiba's who was still under the influence of the red glow and the two stood before one another, stands armed. Before a word could be said from anyone a large series of their punches collided with one another with the occasional blow to the body.

"You can't let this happen! She's tearing you two apart! You idiots snap out of it!" Kaito remarked sending one of the men through a wooden stage prop and fighting off another trying to swing at him.

"Snap out of what? All they're doing is helping me fulfill my great dreams. Doing my bidding. Being loyal." Ko-Kohana pushed off the door and made her way close to the boys but not close enough to be caught in it. Kiba and Johanne both sent a final punch to one another's jaws making them stumble back. Ko-Kohana walked up between them and turned her attention to them, "When I step back. I want you two to go crazy. Really mess things up. Okay?"

In the blink of an eye, Ko-Kohana felt her body sling from a hit and roll across the floor to the front of her door, "W-what the hell was that...? Who did that?"

"You wanted us to mess things up right? I guess the show is over a lot sooner than expected. What do you say, Johanne?" Kiba said with a bloodied lip and nose.

Johanne's head tucked back up revealing his hair a mess, one of his eyes shut and his cheek bruised, "Oh certainly. Curtain call my boy." The two of them moved closer and rested to the other's shoulder.

"W-why? This doesn't make any sense! You aren't going to stop my show! I've done far too much! I've gone too far! And you pitiful poor fanboys break my spell!? One more kiss ought to do it. The boss will reward me. He'll keep my name in lights. I won't be forgotten!" She shakily recovered off the ground with tears in her eyes, her Stand forming behind her once again making a stumbled run to them. Bad Romance stretching out its multiple arms taking rapid strikes at them.

Kiba stepped forward with a flip of his hair, "I don't think I got to properly introduce my friend. Evanescence!" Quickly from behind him, the stand rushed forward jabbing at the multiple hands being much faster due to the range difference and holding it still, "Johanne!"

Dashing forward enough to clear the distance between him and Ko-Kohana, He stopped in front of her dead in his tracks and locked eyes for a moment. His battered face was calm and his form was filled with grace. Her arms and legs were shaken and her tears made her make up run down her slightly blushing face, Johanne only said softly. "Hey, there" Before a very loud, 'NANANA!' send three punches to her and flung her through the dressing room door making her stand disappear from Kiba's hands.

"You insulted us from the start. Thinking we could be so easily swayed and manipulated." Kiba walked over to Johanne with his hands in his pockets, both of their eyes seemed shaded by the shadow of their hand while they bumped fists on all sides, slapped the front and back of each other's hands and flexed into a high five speaking in unison, "But you can't break an unstoppable bond that brothers share!"

Ko-Kohana slowly began to fade from consciousness without a word in response making the rest of the bodies around them drop and the kiss marks crumble away.

Edward and Avelessi took deep breaths from the mass fighting they had to do while Kaito tossed away another man his knife was pointed at and twirled it into his belt. "We should probably be making our way out. I wouldn't want to stick around for the outrage to come."

"You're right. But first-" Johanne walked past the broken door looking around for her desk and hurried over snatching the phone away from it and stopping on his way out with a sigh, "Why do the hot ones have to be crazy...? Wait for me!"

As Johanne and the boys made their hasty escape through the back, there was only a pile of beaten bodies outside of the dressing room as a long hanging sign dropped in the middle making an echo past the cheering crowd in the background.


	13. Chapter 13: Moody Mayhem

Following a few days after their run-in with an unexpected battle, the gang managed to spend some time relaxing from their unfortunately shortened break.

Early in the morning, walking down the street in a horribly slumped manner was Johanne and Noboru dressed in overalls and white t-shirts that were completely dirtied up with oil and mud and carrying tools.

"Alright, son. Well done. We worked our asses off for three days straight and got the rent money. Tonight we celebrate. Recommendations?" Noboru turned to his son who was frantically toying with his hair and brushing some dirt out of it.

"I don't know. A shower sounds pretty great right about now. My body is killing me and my hair is a mess. And People wonder why I go around kicking ass. So I can get a damn education instead of working at ungodly hours of the night." Johanne turned his head and spat out of frustration, hanging his shovel over his shoulder but froze feeling Noboru's hand on his head.

"I'm sorry son I can't give you the life you want, I don't want your mother thinking I can't handle these things either." Noboru let out a soft sigh seeing their home approach but felt Johanne punch him in the arm.

"Don't beat yourself up, old man. I chose this life, Bodou is our little home. And I'm out to protect it. Besides, I like our nice quiet-"

Without a second wasted Johanne's sentence was cut off by some loud crashing noises and a very vicious scream coming from his backyard, "GAAAAH! GOD DAMNIT!" Noboru and Johanne didn't hesitate to make a dash for the noise.

Kicking in the gateway as soon as they arrived, a chair was flying towards them. Noboru covered and tried to duck it but Johanne dispatched the chair with a swift jab from M.C.R. "What the hell is going on!?"

"Don't you fuckin' run away! You think you can keep runnin' from all your problems!?" A voice neither of them had heard before was screaming from the direction the chair came from and saw Jotaro rolling into a crouched stance.

"Yare yare... Why don't you relax for a damn minute and we can-" Jotaro's sentence was cut off abruptly by another chair being flung towards him which he dodged easily.

Johanne cut further into the backyard to investigate, only to see another boy around his age. He was somewhat bigger than Johanne but had a rather built frame to him. A black sleeveless cut off shirt, some brown cargo shorts, and combat boots, a tattered skull bandana around his neck. His hair and face had a familiarity to them, a skin cut hairstyle with green highlights, Chartreuse eyes with two rings printed into the brow. "What is with that kid...? Do I know him? Whatever! Hey! Asshole!"

The boy that was causing the turmoil in his yard turned to him with his chest pounding and glare piercing, another familiar trait that put Johanne off slightly but he didn't phase due to his frustration of his property being damaged, "The fuck business do I have with you!? Kick rocks!" And completely ignored Johanne making a slow steady strut over to Jotaro.

Johanne rose his shovel up and made his way a lot faster over to the boy and swung the shovel, "Don't you ignore me jackass!"

"Holy shit! Son what are you doing!?" Noboru tried to rush over to stop his son from making a fatal mistake but noticed that Johanne's shovel was stopped in midair by something.

Jotaro and Johanne stared directly at the boy and knew what it was, there was an arm extended from his back with a long blade blocking the shovel. "So you're a Stand user... I don't have to hold back then." M.C.R sprung from behind Johanne and delivered a swift blow to the boy's jaw slumping him over some and stumbling.

"Grr! Shouldn't have done that...!" Fixing his posture so his body leaned forward and the same arm that held the blade expanded into a full-bodied Stand from a slow vortex of sand, a muscular crocodile-humanoid creature with skirted Egyptian armor and sandals holding a reversed bat'leth. The Stand let out a vicious roar while its owner called its name, "Freak on a Leash! I'll tear you to shreds!"

The two of them ran at one another rapidly exchanging blows, Johanne carefully planning the barrage of punches that met the blade of the boy's stand so that the small dagger ornaments on M.C.R's gloves collided with it. Johanne's punches were connecting more than he was getting nicked by the blade. "Giving up yet!? You bastards got some nerve coming to my house of all places to attack us!"

The boy's vicious breathing and growling intensified with a beastly shake of his body while radiating a blood red aura that grew larger with each passing exchange. Johanne noticed the change in attack pattern, the strikes got heavier and he was taking more small gashes around his arms and broke into a sweat, 'What the hell is this Stand!? He's swinging so wildly, he was barely keeping up with M.C.R a minute ago and now- He not even concentrating. He's so angry it's like his Stand is acting on its own! I have to stop this!' With a swift lunge forward Johanne dropped down using the lack of focus in his opponent to send a kick to his gut to momentarily knock the wind out of him due to both of them having such short ranges on their Stands and using M.C.R to defend the blows, a perfectly executed strike.

The boy stumbled back with a louder scream, his hair had risen up to a spikier shape that reflected his rage and the attack to come with the very same roar coming from his Stand. Johanne followed through with another attack from M.C.R that sent him flying over towards Jotaro, seeming to add his own frustration to the attack.

The boy rose to his feet, ignoring the pain he felt from the attack entirely and prepared another rush until he was conked on the head by Jotaro's fist and Jotaro himself stepping between the two, "Gah! What the hell Dad!?"

Johanne and Noboru paused entirely with their faces twisting to an utterly shocking state at the comment with their jaws dropped in confusion, "Did this dude just say... Dad?"

Jotaro dropped his hat over his eyes with a deep sigh and walked a little further out, "Sorry to drop this on the table all of a sudden. He's my son. Jesse Kujo. His mother needed a break from... his temper and some personal business with me."

With a very similar sigh, the boy who was addressed as Jotaro's son walked up brushing his hair back with expression turning much calmer, much more relaxed as he stood away from Jotaro but glared at him lazily, "Jesse Joestar. I refuse to carry that name until you act like a father. Calling spending time with your kids isn't business. Sheesh, how dare you come out here on vacation while your daughter, Jolyne, is back in Florida struggling?"

Johanne was trying to take this news in strides but was failing every step of the way until he took a few more steps forward, "Let me get this right. You have two? How come you've never brought this up before!? I was this close to spinning this guy's jaw."

The calm demeanor that was painted on Jesse's face slowly contorted to the previous angry one, with his hair frilling up some and stepping forward holding a fist out, "Don't get too fuckin' cocky! I let my guard down but I'll turn you to mincemeat retard!"

Johanne's temper was tested immediately and the side of him that tried to suppress the thuggish behavior from his upbringing failed, getting close to Jesse and glaring fiendishly with a vicious tone and fury, "You're in my yard asshole! I'll kick your ass up and down the street if I so, please! So go ahead and try bastard!"

As another furious exchange of words was about to fly, Johanne's phone seemed to ring loudly in his pocket. Quickly flipping it open, his expression changed entirely and the sweetest, most innocent change in tone came as he answered the call, "Mama! How are you doing?"

Noboru, Jotaro, and Jesse all stood there in confusion, the shift in behavior and mood was night and day with Johanne. They all sighed and moved on while Johanne strolled to the other side of the yard conversing with his mother.

"Oi! Jesse. Start cleaning this place up. You can't just show up somewhere and wreck other people's home. I know you were brought out here for a reason but don't forget your manners." Jotaro tipped his hat forward and moved around collecting pieces of the damaged lawn furniture.

Jesse was back to his previous state of mind, calm once again, as he let out a soft sigh and began to reorganize the stuff he'd thrown, "Don't go around barking orders Dad. I'm still upset with you. We need to talk sometime about all this traveling."

The time rolled on into the afternoon until almost the entire group made their way back to Johanne's house and met in the living room with Jotaro and Jesse in the middle of the crowd.

Avelessi was softly sipping a cola in his palm with the scratch of his head, "This is rather sudden... I don't usually expect so many new faces one after another. Regardless it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr- Erm?"

"Jesse. Jesse Joestar. Nice to meet you all too. I'm uh sorry about that mess. Things got a little heated when I saw my old man after almost 2 years." Jesse turned his head to Jotaro and nudged his arm which was quickly dismissed.

Kaito leaned against the wall staring over at them both, his silence usually spoke for itself on his general interest but Kaito couldn't get a beat on him. "You're very peculiar. Not in a bad way of course. I can't sense any actual malicious intent. But that look in your eyes. Might that be from your relation to that cold man? Nevertheless I won't pester in others business. If Johanne sees you as alright, so be it."

Johanne came out of the back with a towel around his head, drying his long blonde and silver hair that no one often saw out of the ponytail with a groan, "That's Kaito. He's not very social. Took almost a month for him to get settled in here."

Kiba pushed his way past Johanne laughing at one of Johanne's mangas, "The guy is a stick in the mud. From what I can see, you've got an interesting look going on there. You're American too, luckily you've come to the right place or people in Japan would be tearing you apart with their eyes. Names Misogi Kiba."

Jesse calmly stared at Kiba with a few scratches of his head and nodded, "Thanks, dude. I guess? It's normal to look like this in America where I hang around. I'm still waiting for my motorcycle to come in. I'd like to ride around and see the town."

Avelessi jumped up finishing his beverage, "Ah! You're a motorcycle enthusiast as well!? So is Johanne. I'm sure you two will have a lot to talk about. As for sightseeing, why don't we take him into town guys!?" His bright and exciting mood seemed infectious to everyone but Jotaro and Kaito who immediately declined for work purposes.

"Ah, why the hell not? Wouldn't hurt. After a long day's work, I could use some ice cream. I hope you took those notes for me Kiba." Johanne leads the stride out the door motioning Jesse to follow him.

"Uhh yeah! Totally... Notes..." Kiba cleared this throat, throwing up the peace sign to Kaito and Jotaro on his way out.

"Oh boy! Oh goodness! I can't wait to tell Jesse all about my discoveries! I wonder if he's an extraterrestrial believer as well. I should ask him! Maybe he can offer some tips they use in America." Avelessi quickly closed the door behind him catching up with the rest.

Kaito and Jotaro met eyes in the room quickly until a nod was exchanged, "Jotaro. Things are getting a lot worse than it seems."

"So our suspicions were correct? They still have the arrow here. They aren't planning on letting it leave the city with me intact." Jotaro pulled up a chair, pulling out a small black book of notes scribbled down about Dio's connection to the Mayor of this town.

"Take a look at this." Kaito walked over to Jotaro and held up his phone that was playing a video. The imagery was shocking to Jotaro as it panned around to several bodies laying on the ground dead with the same puncture wound in the throat and some of them being Speedwagon Foundation workers. "They're getting desperate. Trying to build an army to distract us. He's furthering his plan. He wants to control this city with an army of Stand Users dictated by force. He's murdering those who he once gave work to and those he's capturing..."

Jotaro closed his eyes in thought and shut the book in his palm, thoughts rolled in his head of all his travels, especially in Egypt. Turning to Kaito with his finger raised, Jotaro spoke firmly, "We need to speed things up. No telling who might be lurking around this place. I'll break things down to Johanne. This man isn't any regular Dio worshipper."

Cutting back to our gang walking down the street, Avelessi was spouting his mouth out by the second about little green men, being watched wherever you go and so on. Jesse seemed to space in and out of that side of the conversation, watching their surroundings.

Buildings fractured and broken as far as the eye could see, several boarded up windows in some of the blocks they cut through on the way to Upper Bodou, it was a depressing sight to see so much graffiti and people balled around the streets, "What's the deal with this town? Why is it so... different?"

Johanne dropped his arms from the back of his head. He and Kiba both seemed to slow down but kept their lead in the front, Avelessi noticed this and stopped talking. After a few brief moments, Johanne spoke up "This is a town of stolen hope and lies. People are told they have a chance and can make it somewhere. But, we don't. Our only option is to starve and die or take the scraps."

Jesse silently listened to his words as they were passing the section that separated the two sides there was a group of homeless families wrapped in blankets with rusted metal pans. Johanne stopped to pull out his wallet and slip some yen into the pan, Kiba did the same. They were thanked by a man with a child in his lap who smiled at them.

"That was awfully generous of you. Usually, it's not done so easily back home. A lot of people just walk past bums in the street." Jesse said joining them back with the same walking pace.

Kiba spoke up this time, "Because it's a dog eat dog world over here. No one has anything here and if they're lucky it's not stolen from them by the people or the officials. It's bullshit man. That's why ever since Johanne and I were kids we swore to never be that type of trash. To take everything and give nothing back."

Jesse scratched his head and nodded once again, "I don't mean to be that guy. But, Johanne. You have a choice to not live that life, right? The woman you were on the phone with, I spoke to her before my flight. She's one of the top researchers in the R&D department. She should be paid well. Why aren't you living up here?" Referring to some of the nicer buildings as they were now strolling through Upper Bodou.

Johanne grits his teeth for a moment and lets out a sigh, "It's a lot more complicated than that. I could easily live a nice cozy life here with my Dad. Ignore all the issues going on around me, have a nice following of women, fancy clothes. But that won't satisfy me."

"Satisfy you?" Jesse leaned forward to look at Johanne's expression to see it was stern and solid, filled with deep-seated meaning. Avelessi understood where this was going and silently listened to the message could pass and tugged Jesses' sleeve to motion him to listen close.

"From a young age, my actual father was a scumbag. I don't like to talk about him much, but I gained no fatherly traits from him. But, my current one. He taught me something that I'll never forget. That being handed everything is boring, you don't grow that way. He could have banked off my mother's money, the same as me. But we won't be satisfied as men. So we work our fingers to the bone and enjoy it every step of the way. According to Dad, that's what made my mother fall for him. Funny right?" Johanne turned to Jesse with a smile this time, the story made him at ease every time he thought of it.

Jesse was shocked by this tale and only stared at Johanne with respect for him compared to the raging guy he saw before. Kiba chimed in by stopping the group, "Alright! Enough sappy stuff for the moment. Time for the best-frozen treat you'll ever have." Leaning the group into Megumi's shop.

The group entered the ice cream parlor with business as booming as ever but a loud noise behind the counter, "By the Queen please have some mercy woman!"

"No! You look so cute out of that old stuff! You didn't say anything last night! Pleeeease!" These were two very familiar voices that came from behind the counter, Johanne and Kiba's faces grew blank and lifeless at the comments.

"Dude they're at it again..." Kiba mentioned leaning into Johanne's ear with a soft whisper. In which was quickly received with a nod and his rolling his finger around.

"We should probably come back later... I'm sure we can find something at the convenient store down the street..." The boys grabbed Jesse who curiously stared behind the counter until on his way out they popped from behind the counter with Megumi trying to force a long pink apron onto Edward while he furiously struggled to get away.

Both of the leading boys were brought to a shutter as they strolled down the street. Jesse moved back up to them and kept his eyes wandering, "This town is something else. It's remarkable how people are bouncing around English and Japanese here."

"Well, if you hadn't noticed. There is a large abundance of Japanese people here, but I'm part Danish, Avelessi's Italian, and our friend back there was British. You'll meet him later. Bodou is famous for being a huge ethnic playground. So English became a stronger central language being taught in our schools." Johanne led the group into the store and noticed they hadn't gotten a greeting. Only glares.

The group split off and grabbed their snacks and what not. Many things were unfamiliar to Jesse, so he grabbed some chips and moved with the rest. Johanne walked to the counter "Hey, I'd like to buy a couple ice creams, please." While placing the money on the counter.

The man at the counter rolled a toothpick in his mouth and groan, reaching into the freezer in the back grabbing a couple wrapped cones and tossed them onto the counter. "Pay for the rest and scram."

This behavior didn't sit right with Jesse and he stepped forward to retaliate but Johanne held an arm out, "Thank you very much. Have a nice day."

As they all calmly gathered their things in bags the man put for them, they turned to leave and heard him mutter. "Hmph. Nice day my ass, filthy foreigners."

The rattle of Jesse's chains on his clothes and boots stopped as he turned his head with his hair flaring up again, "What did you just say?"

"I said get out of my store. Ya trash!" the clerk commented again crossing his arms and locking glares with Jesse.

"Don't test me you judgmental pri-!" Jesse's shoulder was grabbed by Johanne and tightly gripped with a slow shake of his head as if he was silently telling him not to pick this fight.

Jesse's fist tightened in anger from being held back once again and let loose as he knocked over an entire row of candy and rushed out the door. Kiba sighed and spoke up, "Go handle the guy. We got it." He and Avelessi turned to the man to apologize immediately after and knelt to retrieve the candy.

Johanne quickly turned on his heel and hurried out the door to see Jesse turned away. Johanne rushed up to him and shoved him to the wall, "What the fuck is your problem!?"

"What's my problem? Did you not hear what he said to us!? You talk about satisfaction but can you honestly be okay sitting around and taking that?" Jesse grabbed Johanne's arm quickly trying to pull him off.

"Are you kidding me? I'm trying to build something better here! Not make enemies. We're just proving them right if we fly off the handle at shit like that! I don't know how things work in the States but I can't have that kind of crap going on here!" Johanne jerked him back against the wall.

Jesse shoved Johanne off him and watched as his flaring hair changed once again, his expression seemed a lot more intense. They continued their stares in heated silence, "Step off..." Jesse muttered under his breath, there was a festering rage in the boy's voice.

Johanne took a moment to shut his eyes and take a very deep breath, turning his back to Jesse, "Do me a favor and don't move. I'm going to take a small walk. Let Avelessi and Kiba know as well."

The two didn't speak any further as Johanne walked down the street in the opposite direction and cut the corner. After a short distance, Johanne heard a whimper coming around a corner, "What the hell is that?" Slowly approaching the noise, he heard it get louder and much more familiar, "A dog?"

When finally finding the origin of the noise there was a small staircase into what looked like a lower pocket of the street and saw a tail slowly wagging, "Ah. It might be stuck down there. I suppose you don't deserve that huh little guy?"

Johanne tucking his hands into the pockets, making his way down the stairs to the whimpering as it got louder. Reaching a few steps before the tail, there was a loud scream from the dog then silence. His face swapped to one of slight hesitation and stopped, "H-hey? You okay down there little guy...?"

Taking another couple steps down, Johanne's entire being froze in panic as some trickles of dark liquid pooled around the now motionless tail and from the shadows around the corner, the head of a small Boston terrier rolled out with its eyes slashed open, leaking a gruesome amount of blood. "N-no way... You gotta be kidding me..."

Johanne quickly tried to turn around to run back up the stairs but felt a swift clench on his ankle. Turning to look at it cautiously, there was a long, boney, inky black twitching hand with monstrously sharp fingers that dug into Johanne's leg. Panic ensued him as M.C.R quickly emerged to attack it but the arm seemed to only slightly splash onto the ground as if made of some form of liquid but didn't let go of Johanne's leg. "S-shit! I'm trapped!"

Before he could think of any other means of escape, Johanne's body flung to the ground and was viciously pulled down the stairs. He used every bit of might he could muster with himself and his stand, but the grip broke the stone portion of old stairs and was drug even further down the stairs. Johanne screamed at the top of his lungs for help as his body sank into pitch black darkness.


	14. Chapter 14: Painted Black

**Hello everyone! I thank you greatly for your patience. I know it's been damned near a month since I've posted another part but I've had a ridiculous list of issues that I've had to deal with back to back and all I have wanted in this time is to get another part out to you all. Don't think we've abandoned the dream just yet! ORA! Look forward to us getting back on a much more consistent schedule!**

Jesse Kujoh, or Jesse Joestar as he much favored due to his relations with Jotaro Kujoh. Jesse was a young, misguided youth with many problems around every corner with the biggest starting in his own home.

Around the age of 15, Jesse discovered he was never close with his entire family but lived in content and love under his mother's care and a peaceful co-existence with his elder sister Jolyne. Sadly his most distant relationship was with his father, Jotaro, whom he believed for most of his life hated Jesse due to Jotaro's absence in his family's life. This submerged Jesse in depression, anger, and uncertainty heading into his adolescents.

Public school was particularly hard for Jolyne and Jesse as they'd already decided to turn down much more delinquent paths of life. Jolyne found herself dressing much wilder, coloring her hair and finding the most rebellious people to spend her time with often being misunderstood and mixed in with worse crowds but still held her kind nature.

Jesse closed himself off, learned to drive and repair motorcycles and roaming the nights of Florida whenever he could sneak past their sleeping mother and vandalize the town or loiter in odd places like ballparks or restaurants, always being drug back by police at night. The authorities realized the broken home and that neither kids wanted to cause trouble so the most they got was escorts and lectures.

One fatal day at school was a turning point for Jesse, the day his father finally put his attention to him. The boy was often picked on by other students after rumors spread about his home life and he was singled out by many. One quiet day after gym class, Jesse found himself alone in the back changing. Several larger male students approached him with a planned prank and to attack him for being an outcast. The boys held nothing back taking away Jesse's clothes, his belongings, and filming as they beat him to a battered pulp.

The onslaughter lasted almost an hour as they assaulted him and ridiculed him about his missing parent until one of the boys was about to scar Jesse with a boxcutter from Workshop for good measure, so he wouldn't forget this lesson and within a flash, they all hear a roar echo in the locker room and some of the lights shatter and flicker then dead silence.

The next day there was a large police raid set out to Jesse's home and school about a video that got leaked. Jesse was carried from his classroom in handcuffs and guns pointed at him. Many kids heard speak of the video and pulled it up on their phones as Jesse was carried away. The video revealed what happened after the lights flickered, there was screaming, bloodcurdling screams. Jesse was standing in the middle of the six boys that attacked him, bloodied and naked while there were wild streaks of blood coating the floors and walls. None of the boys were reported killed but gravely injured while Jesse was also a victim in the recording, he spent half a year locked in a juvenile detention center for what happened.

He was never visited by Jotaro during the time after he spent in there, only his mother and Jolyne. Once his time was up, his father told him the truth... The truth about their bloodline and his condition.

Back to the present day...

There was a vicious and panicked sound of struggling to come from Johanne as he was drug into the darkness, his head leaned over his shoulder to see a single barely lit room with large slabs of wood lining the walls and underneath that was wall to wall concrete as if they were in some sort of bunker with a flickering bulb. "KIBA! AVELESSI!"

Johanne used every bit of strength in himself and M.C.R to resist the binding but his fingers only seemed to slip off the edges of the door and the door slammed shut with him inside. The long tendrils retreated into the darkness and Johanne quickly made his way to his feet in a rush glaring around, "Come out coward! You gotta sneak attack me huh!?"

There was a soft, scratchy noise coming from the back of the chamber they were locked in. Johanne's attention shot to it as a voice followed after, it was weak and empty almost disappointed in tone, "That's not a very nice thing to say... Ah. I'm rather sorry for the inconvenience. I could have done it a lot cleaner but I'm bad at everything I do..."

Turning to the source of the voice it was openly identified as a female tone and extremely lazy and drug out. Johanne's eyes darted around and just as the lights flickered, there she was. Curled into the corner with long shaggy black hair and a torn-up long white gown like cloth, "Okay this is getting rather annoying fast. Let me out of here or I'll kick your ass. You're within my range." With a swipe of his arm, M.C.R phasing in beside him.

The woman only sighed deeply and moved her hand to the floor and traced her finger in some dark liquid on the ground, Johanne's eyes flashed wide when the flickering lights let him get a better look at it, "I don't know what you're talking about... Oh lord, I'm just not going to get anywhere am I? It doesn't matter I guess... You won't either. We can sit in this toxic misery together."

Johanne was quickly flustered in anger and confusion at the statement his eyes darting around the room knowing full well that whatever happened to that dog moments ago that it was her who killed it. "Sit in here my ass! M.C.R.!" He turned quickly and made a leap for the door and went to attack it before some of the dark gunk that was covering the door formed a large balloon and popped upon being hit by M.C.R and coating Johanne in the black substance while falling over from the force of the pop.

The woman that was coated in the white veil softly snickered under her cover and moved on her hands and knees, very slow and twitching, crawling over to Johanne. "He he he... Silly boy, you fell for it. Maybe I'm not so bad after all! Ah but then if I start thinking like that I'll just be even more disappointed when I screw something else up..." She grumbled under her breath then let out a long sigh. Johanne panted trying to catch his breath and shoving the gunk off his body while moving to his hands and knees, "The longer you fight it, the faster it spreads..."

Johanne pushed himself forward to the door and tried to use it to get back to his feet only to feel the black sludge grow heavier on his body, "Y-you're a fuckin' idiot if you think this is holding me back..." Noticing a figure form beside the girl as her face finally came out of her hair. It was painted in dried out black makeup and dried out blood in drops and streaks skim down her face. The figure behind her gave off a wide, creepy mocking grin. It was a very inky black, tall figure with bright glowing eyes piercing the darkness, there was a thorn crown around its head and multiple large chains and nails stringing out of its body and its smile beastly and creaked twitching every so often.

Johanne watched in disbelief as the woman approached him menacingly and seeing her Stand in full, his heart and body grew heavy with emotion. As swiftly as he could Johanne found himself crawling to the door and hammering away at it letting out loud wails, "AVELESSI! KIBA! IM IN HERE! GUYS!"

"Beg and plead all you want. I've done it for years but no one listens. Why don't you just give up and rest? Accept that you're nothing... Just like me." The woman slowly moved behind him and brushed a hand over Johanne's shoulder up to his cheek and the black gunk spread across his body further, "It's no use..." Before he could move the black tendrils formed once again lifting Johanne off the floor and hurling him into the door several times then flung him across the room making the light fixture sway around.

Johanne tussled against the sludge to get to his feet but failed and fell into it with a deep pant. His next move was using M.C.R. to push against the ground making it to one of his knees then seeing his Stand's arm flicker on and off then fade entirely. "F-fuck me... You've got to be kidding me... I'm going to fail... Here and now, I'm going to fail..."

The woman moved beside Johanne with a light sigh brushing more of the sludge, "That's the spirit... Give up. Give into the embrace of Rui's Painted Black. This is our true ability. Our only use. Suffer with us."

Back to the store...

After cleaning up the mess and apologizing several times to the store owner, Avelessi and Kiba managed to make their way out to see Jesse leaning against the wall. "Yo. You know you owe us for that one." Kiba spoke upon approaching him with Avelessi popping up and nodding angrily with gummy bears stuffing his cheeks.

Jesse scoffed at the scolding and turned away from them, "I didn't ask for your hel-" He was swiftly cut off by Kiba shoving him aside and walking past him.

"You didn't have to ask. You think you're tough shit but these streets will eat you alive if you aren't careful. But you can't make everyone listen, right? You'll end up alone with that attitude." He laughed with a hint of taunt in his tone as Avelessi followed, "Did you see Johanne?"

Jesse went silent for a moment and remained still, "The way you're walking..."

Kiba didn't say anything further and made his way around the corner turning to Avelessi, "You know you're going to become diabetic one day eating like that."

"A small price to pay to enjoy the simple things in life dear friend! Huh? Hey, do you hear something?" Avelessi paused for a moment with them turning the corner to hear several loud thumps.

Kiba took a few steps closer to the stair and looked around the base of it, "Hmm. I do hear it. Think we should?" He asked taking a couple more steps down in caution until he barely hears a scream, "That's my name...! Jesse said Johanne came this way. Little dude, keep your eyes sharp." The two of them proceeded down the staircase with caution, the thunderous sound of the door being thrashed rung with each step. Both of the boys gasped as they saw the blood trail from before but the body was gone, "We gotta help whoever is down there! Come on!" Avelessi and Kiba jumped the rest of the way down the stairs only to be greeted by a wall of tendrils.

"I got this!" Avelessi stepped forward and called on Eminem to deliver a barrage of kicks to counter the wave that attacked them and batting away some of the sludge with its cane.

"Someone's taken to fighting well. I like it. My turn!" Rushing past the still recovering mass Kiba hiked his foot back, Evanescence beside him and sent both legs into the door making it fly back against the wood boards. "Johanne! You in here!?"

Johanne and Rui both turned to the doorway in disbelief, his body was almost completely engulfed beside one arm, his shoulder, and head, "G-guys... You can't be here. I've lost... You'll get caught too... It's no use. Runaway from here..."

"You should listen to your friend. I didn't listen to my mother so she cut my hair and locked me in the shed. I was punished like He is now. But I deserved it for being such loathsome kid. Kind of like him... He's being very mischievous..."

"Sheesh I turn my back for one second and you get caught in this shit. You need to watch your back if you're going to be some kind of savior." Kiba and Avelessi advanced into the darkened room regardless of the warnings from Johanne.

"Ah. So foolish... I suppose you'll have to be painted black as well." From the floor, she rose her hand up calling another wave of the tentacles to surround the two boys only for Kiba's Evanescence to take a stoic fighting stance and deliver quick, powerful jabs to each one making the sludge slightly stain them and the floor. "Not very nice of you. You're so violent. It reminds me of my old friends from the past. I don't like that very much." She drew another motion this time closing her arms together. The sludge around Kiba and Avelessi's feet swirled around them until forming a large pair of jaws that engulfed them quickly.

Johanne gritted his teeth and slammed his fist into the puddle having to watch them and knowing what comes next. As a large series of sparks flew out of the cluster that consumed them it was soon exploded by some of Avelessi's hamon candy causing more of the sludge to splatter than before and coat their bodies. "Fucks sake you gotta be careful with that shit man. Scared the daylights out of me." Kiba commented trying to brush himself clean.

"Uhm many apologies and all but I seem to have come across an issue," Avelessi added with a dismayed tone while he tried brushing off himself but failed in each attempt. He tried taking a step and fell over trying to move his arms but the weight was becoming too much.

"Oooooh, this is too freaky for me! It's like getting stuck in monster tar!" Kiba groaned suddenly and dropped to his knee, "What the hell is with this stuff? So heavy... So weak... A-Avelessi..." Kiba's eyes widened suddenly gazing over.

Avelessi was curled up in the fetal position almost completely enveloped by the sludge coming from Painted Black who was looming in the middle of the room under the swinging bulb. Avelessi was shaking horribly like a leaf, tears streaming down his cheeks, "M-mama... Papa... Why? Why did you leave me...?"

Rui sat beneath her Stand only staring off at Kiba as if she was waiting for a bomb to blow off right in front of her. Kiba turned to meet her gaze and growled under his breath then began to inch over to her. "Y-you bitch... What did you do to them...?" Kiba's eyes darting between Johanne who laid against the ground with his eyes devoid of spirit and Avelessi falling apart at the seams. He lunged forward lazily and clenched his fists into her gown and tried calling forth his Stand but only felt himself knock over.

Rui stood in the mess of defeated foes and wrapped her arms around herself in utter bliss, "Could this possibly be my moment? Am I finally making up for all those years of being a pathetic waste? Hahahahaha! Oh! I have to finish them and call the boss. Or did he want them alive? I'll have to do both to be sure. Hmmm... I'm such a ditz..."

The several tendrils coiled from the floor wrapping around our young combatants and began to slam them against one another and the walls while groaning in pain with each flick. Rui watched the display and slipped into the front of her gown underneath her neck and pulled a cell phone from her chest slowly dialing a number.

The boys fell to the floor in front of Rui and laid in their defeat, Kiba coughing and speaking under his breath, "A-are you fucking kidding me...? I'm useless again... This is unreal. I just need to get out. We just need to leave." Trying to use whatever strength he could muster to slow crawl away towards the door.

"Oh no, you don't. It's far too late to think again. You're stuck here. With me. In my bittersweet sadness." A soft cryptic giggle drowned Kiba's ears as his body was coiled once again and dragged but the dragging was halted by the stomping of boots.

"Tsk. Are you kidding me? And you all dare to lecture me about being careful? Please." Everyone turned their eyes to the door to see Jesse standing before them with his hands tucked into pockets.

"Another plaything? The more the sadder. Come on in and join us... There's plenty of gloom." Rui commented removing her hand and stopping past Kiba.

"L-look! You've got to run... I fell for it. Like a damn fool. But it's not too late... Don't come in here. Go get help or we're all screwed. L-losing strength... Can't summon... Stand..." Kiba's voice was fading and bleak.

Jesse stared down at Kiba who was virtually begging him against his judgment. To Kiba's shock and dread, Jesse advanced into the room with his chains and boots rattling.

Rui and Kiba both exclaimed to the boy, "You idiot...!' As the tendrils quickly wrapped themselves around Jesse's figure as soon as he made it far enough in. "Now you'll be the last obstacle... I didn't even know there was another one. Now we'll have plenty of leverage. The boss will be so proud. I'm doing it!" Her voice grew excited and in deep pants shaking to dial the rest of the number and let it ring.

Jesse felt his body slowly coat with the liquid as the tentacles surrounded him. "Is that all? Come on. Freak on a Leash!" Soon forming in a swirl of dust was a long reversed bat'leth that shredded the tentacles and spilled some of the liquid on Jesse. "All I have to do is beat you. Right? Just that?"

Rui held the ringing phone and watched the boy advance toward her step by step and shook her head, "You're such a brave soul. I envy you for having the strength to delve into sorrow. But that's the limit of my praise. Fall."

When her words hit Jesse's ear, he stopped in his tracks and staggered with a grunt, "H-huh. So this is what's trapped those guys. It's heavy. Johanne isn't even speaking. What's your game- Grr!" Jesse held his head for a moment and groaned heavily.

Rui approached him a few moments later and snickered, "So you're seeing it now. Soon you'll fall under Painted Black's spell. All your sadness, doubt, depression will consume you. Just like your friends and you'll fall. Ah! I can't believe I'd forgotten already. Boss, sir. Yes, I have them all here in the room. You'll be coming soon?"

Jesse stood there shaking intensely, his breathing growing heavier and barely peering past his hand that held his face. Kiba was falling back to the floor and watching Jesse, mouthing the words 'Fight it!' Jesse began to grunt and growl, inside of his head he played over and over images of horror to him. He saw the pain he'd endured back in school and all the torture the other kids brought, He saw the fights and mistreatment he received back in juvenile hall, and most significantly, images of Jotaro constantly walking away raced through the young Joestar's head.

Growls filled the room that radiating from Jesse's hunched body, Rui turned away from the phone to the sound and took a step back. "What's going on with him...? Everyone has differing reactions to Painted Black... But this..."

Jesse's body frantically twitched and jittered under the swinging bulb, a visible dark red aura flashed around Jesse as he slowly lifted his head to show the same glow burning in his eyes, his hair frilled up fully and waving some with his muscles convulsing. Johanne's eyes perked up fully aware of what's coming next. "D-don't you dare... Don't you fucking dare!" The frightened Rui screamed at Jesse who shuffled his way closer.

"S-stay back...! Not another s-s-step!" Rui threw her hands forward with a large rush of black tendrils going to grapple Jesse again but were instantly ripped to shreds but Freak on a Leash who was fully visible beside him and walking also side slashing the tendrils with swift ease. "G-gah! Are you some kind of demon...!?"

Jesse quickly slung his hand to her throat and squeezed into it making her gasp for air, the veins popping out of his wrists. Rui was kicking her legs and trying to get her defense but was dismissed one by one by Jesse's blade from his Stand. She was crying and begging for her life at this point through her sputtered choking speech.

The pools of sludge quickly retreated from the room and the weakened body of the rest of the group, they all made gradual recoveries from their trace to see Jesse holding the woman. Johanne slowly rose to his knees in a pant and held his hand up, "Think carefully Jesse... Don't do it. We're free. She can't get in your head anymore."

Jesse's glare remained on the woman and dropped her making her collapse to her knees and cough. Turning his back to her still panting heavily and clenching his fists, Rui pulled the phone to her lips, "B-boss...! Please come quickly...! I'll keep us here! Even at the cost of my worthless life..."

They all heard what she said and saw the sludge make its swift surrounding to the door to block it off while Rui made it to the wall to pick herself up. This gesture immediately pissed off Jesse who's eyes glided in the darkness to the girl and send a fist barreling into her stomach making her cough profusely. The following left the entire room speechless.

"ORA!" Jesse screamed in a devilishly rash tone sending punch after punch to her stomach and face, "ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORAAAAAA!" Sending a final blow that spun her around and knocked her to the floor unconscious making her drop the phone.

The young Joestar panted heavily and turned his back to the group, Freak on a Leash fading into the darkness and the barricading tendrils did as well with the dispelling of Rui's Stand.

Johanne let out a long sigh of relief and turned to notice the phone on the ground was still on. He walked over to it and picked it up, his eyes perking up at the name and placed it on his ear.

"Rui? Answer me this instance. You know I don't like to be held up. We're almost there. Are they still captive?" It was without a doubt the boss' voice by the way he spoke and hearing his prior speeches. Johanne grinned a nasty Cheshire-like smile.

"I believe you have the wrong person. Rui's not going to be able to come to the phone right now. She's pretty worn out." Utter silence was exchanged between the two on the phone until hysterical laughter filled Johanne's ear.

"You've got some nerve kid. I adore that. Truly. I don't know your voice entirely but I'm sure you're the little pest I've been encountering with all my business. I see you're trying to be some big shot. Some hero even. But you're messing with forces you've undoubtedly underestimate. We'll meet. I know it. And when we do you'll regret every bit of my operations you've stepped on. Count on it. Young Kamijou." The boss' final statement shocked Johanne for a moment but didn't break his pride.

"That's perfectly fine with me. Because when we meet, when you're at your lowest of low. And I've torn your entire organization down to sundering ash. I'll laugh in your face. See you soon." Johanne clicked the end button and slipped the phone into his pocket, turning to his crew.

Kiba had helped Avelessi off the ground, who was now shaking a lot less and clinging to him then turned to Johanne, "Man you've got some balls saying that. Straight to the guy's face. I guess we're fully in on this plan then huh? No backing down." He spoke with a sigh his expression was a half-smile and still recovering from the effects of Painted Black.

"Tsk. Yeah, I was all in a long time ago. I want him to know we're making this happen and he'll pay for it all. Dirty little tricks like this aren't going to stop us, right?" Avelessi with his face buried in Kiba nodded, along with Kiba himself who was now guiding Avelessi out.

Johanne began his stroll towards the door and stopped at the exit, turning his head over his shoulder to Jesse who was still staring into the dim abyss that was the room, "Right? Jesse?"

Hearing his name perked him up for a moment and turned his head from the darkness, Jesse's eyes widened to see Johanne holding his hand out and a shimmer of light from what could reach around the corner illuminated Johanne and left Jesse speechless. Very slowly taking step after step Jesse made his way over to Johanne and just stared at him with a nod, "Y-yeah. They aren't." Both of the boys walked out of the room with Johanne's hand firmly planted on Jesse's back leaving the darkroom and Rui to the clean up of her boss and his crew, fleeing the scene the best they could.


	15. Chapter 15: The Strength to go on

Okay! Once again. We meet another month later. I didn't particularly want to wait this long but I have had a lot planned for this. This chapter is a special dedication to my older brother (Kiba's creator.) Who also writes stories here and his 30th chapter for his current project, RWBY. And the first drawing made of our lovely main cast, Johanne Kamijou.

My Brother's Story: s/11794892/1/Origins-Of-LUNR

Link to Johanne: /FrostyAlmighty/status/1174688936884658176?s=19

Please show them some love! Drop a couple follows and reviews on the stories and the picture. They are both amazing content creators and deserve plenty of love! Enjoy!

Another bright, early morning passed over Bodou City, this time on another weekend morning we come before a barely waking Kiba staring out his window with a void gaze from another rough night's sleep. With a deep sigh under his breath, he pushed from his bed and began his preparations to begin his day.

The time passed as slowly as ever in his home, utter silence surrounded him outside of whatever task he was doing in his bedroom and bathroom to clean himself for the day. Neither of the voices he'd hoped to hear was present for yet another day.

"So quiet. So dead. Nothing I'm not used to I suppose." He spoke to himself spitting into his sink and turning off the water. Kiba proceeded with the rest of the time getting dressed and styling his hair. Upon grabbing his toast and preparing to head out the door, the sudden sound of rain clicking against the window caught his attention. "Fuckin' kidding me…" And so began a very rollercoaster-like day for Misogi Kiba.

Slowly but surely making his way through the pouring rain Kiba's head was buried into his phone giving small snickers at the photos He and Johanne had exchanged over the prior night which brightened his morning exponentially. This persisted for a short time before he was bummed by an old man and stumbled some.

"Ah… Forgive me, young man. I lose my balance rather easily nowadays. Especially in this dreadful weather." The old man commented with a bow.

Kiba remained silent only blankly staring down at his cell phone swimming in a rain puddle at his feet.

"Oh dear me. Did I cause that? Please allow me to-" The old man was cut off abruptly.

Clenching tightly on the umbrella in his other hand, Kiba spoke softly "It's fine. Have a nice day." And nothing more from Kiba as the man was beginning to pull his wallet from his pocket and stared at the young man who shuffled off quickly, leaving his phone in the water.

After around 15 minutes of walking through the torn-up streets to the dapper housing of Upper Bodou, Kiba found himself entering the ice cream parlor as he usually would in his free time to see Edward, Kaito, Jotaro, and Johanne sitting at a round table. He began to listen in on the matter.

"That pile of bodies in that room again. Same as before. This time they're getting onto me. I've narrowed down the Mayor's prime men for testing. It's down to two. He's using the other guys from the race track as muscle. These are some real twisted fucks." Edward remarked scoffing at the pictures Kaito brought before of the bodies.

"It's definitely narrowing down to their drug string or the water processing plant. I used to do drops their for the boss late at night." Kaito added turning to Johanne and Jotaro who glanced at one another then toward Kiba.

"Ah! Yo Kiba. Come take a seat. We're planning our next attack. After that threat I made I can't just sit still. He knows we mean business." Johanne threw two fingers up at Kiba with a grin but soon faded with a notice that something was off.

"I ummm.. I think I'll pass for now. I'm just out for some air. I'll catch you guys later, alright?" Kiba quickly turned on his heel and out of the parlor. Johanne sat there in disbelief before getting up slowly but was interrupted by Megumi walking up and placing a hand on his shoulder shaking his head.

"Ah. Megumi-Senpai. Do you have any idea what's going on with him? I want to go see." Johanne persisted until he was gently placed in his seat.

She shook her head in response and reached over pouring tea into Jotaro's cup. "I don't know hun. He's always had moments like this. Usually, he does this when he's alone. He'll come to the parlor and sit at the counter and sing me the blues. His parents are never home because they're working hard to keep the lights on. They have no other near family but Kiba's uncle who travels pretty often. Then we both know his troubles with school and socializing. It's all a front sometimes."

Johanne looked up at Megumi in silence turning to the window beside him to see Kiba turning a corner. Megumi let off a soft sigh, ruffling Johanne's hair with a shake of her head. "Leave him be hun. He might just need some time to sort himself out."

Moving back to our soul in solitude Kiba, the boy shuffled down the street umbrella in hand and head down, a thousand words swam through his head. "Seems like they got it all figured out. I mean really, what am I wasting my time doing there? Pointless."

Exiting the crossroads between the sections of the city Kiba took an alternative road down some old streets. Eventually, Kiba ran into a broken-down building with multiple large scale graffiti tags and drawings. "This sure brings back some memories. Make when Johanne and I couldn't stay out of trouble." Images played through his head as he walked, phantoms of Kiba standing on Johanne's shoulders with a couple of cans of paint. He laughed at the thought.

After a few moments, Kiba was brought down to earth by a soft rattling sound. His eyes flickered a few times until he looked down to see small cardboard for with a small dirtied hand, shaking around a rusty tin cup.

"No speech about lost family? No puppy dog eyes? Sheesh. Here." Kiba reached into his pocket, pulling out his wallet, and setting some bills and change into the cup, "Don't spend it all in one place kid."

"Thank you…" Was all he could hear. 'A young girl's voice. Shame.' Kiba said to himself within his head as he kept his slow stroll on for a little while not moving too far from the alleyway between the two buildings and admiring more art.

"Well well, kid. Looks like you came up with a little more than usual today. That cup don't look so empty." It was a male voice this time. Kiba's eyes darted over to watch.

A second Male walked up the box for that the little girl had retreated into and started kicking the edges, "I know you're dumb but you're not that dumb. Get out here and pay ya rent for their alley!" Eventually, the soggy pieces of cardboard fell over to reveal the long-haired girl curled around the cup dressed in a torn long shirt and dark shorts with no shoes.

"Hand it over. You know what happens if you don't." The first man that spot said walking over to press his large foot into the girl's hand making her shriek in pain. Kiba continued to stand by his grip almost crushing the umbrella handle.

As the girl persisted on keeping her money the two men looked at one another and began to kick the girl over and over after around 10 seconds until the cup was kicked over and some of the money rolled out into the rain. "THAT'S MORE LIKE IT LITTLE BI-"

The second man was cut off by Kiba jutting his fist furiously into the man's jaw, knocking him over, "I know I'm an asshole but you guys are downright trash. Guess I'll end my viewing party here."

The first man shuttered for a second before running over to his companion and helping him up, "W-who the fuck do you think you are huh?" In addition, pulling out a pocket knife.

"I think I'm the guy about to shove that knife where the sun don't shine if you don't scram." Kiba twirled his umbrella closed noticing the rain slowing down.

Both of them managed to brandish a pocket knife and glares at Kiba in such a rage their very senses betrayed them, "You don't know who you're fuckin' with kid… I guess a lesson is in order!" The first man spoke with a laugh.

Kiba rested the umbrella over his shoulder and took a step. The wind shifted around him, calling upon his Stand. The men didn't bother seeing the small change in Kiba's position, "Oh please. Like that's the first time I've seen those toys. Put them away before you hurt yourselves. Oh, wait! That might be a little hard! Hahahaha!" Kiba pointed down at the legs of the boys.

Both of them turned a dark beet red from embarrassment, without their knowledge both of their pants were gone and soon after that so were the knives while they were in a daze, "What the fuck is this?! What did you do!? We didn't take our eyes off you for a second! It's almost like a magician or somethin' " The second boy panicked trying to grasp the situation at hand all while Kiba is grinning ear to ear and having the laugh of his life.

"You… you think this is funny huh? C'mon! Let's go find some pants. We'll be back dipshit!" The first boy tumbled away covering his rubber duck boxers while the other clumsily stumbled after him.

Kiba stood there with his laughter subsiding. His eyes turned to the girl who only stood there outside her box staring up at Kiba while he bent over to collect the money that fell.

"Here you go, kid. No need to thank me. I know I'm pretty great." She didn't say a word. She only locked eyes with Kiba in utter silence which made him raise a brow. "Uhh, you okay there? They didn't hit you or any-"

"Your laugh…" The girl commented boldly but softly. It caught Kiba by surprise.

"Excuse me? My laugh? It was funny. Didn't you think?" He shook the cup again to offer it to her.

"Your laugh. Your smile. It's all so empty. So full of pain. Are you hurt Mister?" The girl's comment soon drained the life from Kiba's face. His expression from before returned. A bleak disgruntled frown.

Kiba said nothing else and sat the cup on the ground, unfolding his umbrella, shuffled down the street quickly. His pace didn't stop in the slightest almost forcing himself into a powerful angry trudge.

After reaching around two blocks Kiba noticed the rain finally stopped and the clouds were brushing aside. He stopped at a nearby park and looked at his reflection in a puddle of water. Next came a scream that felt like it was welled in his chest for ages that echoed through the park. Kiba's fist rammed a nearby tree over and over while he shouted. This went on for a good minute until his knuckles began to bleed and he felt his body stumble away from the tree.

Panting heavily through the rain droplets that fell from the tree running down his face mixed with a cascade of tears, he looked down at what stopped him. To his surprise, it was the girl again. She was silent and held onto Kiba for a few moments longer then stepped away to look up at him with the same expression as before.

Kiba's face scrounged into anger and confusion then took a deep sigh. "What the hell are you even doing here…?"

She didn't answer him. Her lip quivered nervously but her hand moved to point to his knuckles that were beaten bare and leaking blood.

Kiba looked down at his twitching hand and sighed to himself in disappointment, "Sorry you had to see that kid. Wasn't one of my proudest moments I guess." His eyes darted around for a moment until he stopped upon a food stand. "I suppose food will get my mind off this for a little while."

Kiba turned his back and slowly made his way to the stand. About halfway there, he turned his back to see the girl still standing there with her head tilted to the ground. "You coming? My treat I guess. For helping me out too." Her head perked up a little to see Kiba holding his hand out to her. Nervously but somewhat eagerly, she made her way over to his side and took hold of his wrist. Kiba sighed again rubbing his head with his free hand, "Jeez kid. I'm not like those other assholes. Ease up a little."

The two slowly made their way over to the shaded stand where the beautiful aroma of takoyaki filled their noses. Kiba took in the scent and bloomed with joy then ordered two. The little girl stood beside him with her head down until a few moments later Kiba tapped her head.

The Little girl's eyes lit up with joy seeing the food offered to her, some drool rolling off the edge of her lip. Seeing all this made Kiba snicker, "Just take it before I change my mind." Then took a few nibbles of his. "This stand is a classic. You seem like you've been around here a while so I'm sure you've seen this stand."

The girl remained silent aside from some grumbling and chewing. Kiba watched in surprise, 'And I thought I loved those things. No, wait…' Kiba thought to himself looking down at the girl, her body was incredibly frail and shaking. 'She's starving.'

Kiba turned to buy another couple orders of takoyaki and guided the girl to a bench not too far away. He placed the food between them and started off into the distance while they ate. The girl had finished all but the last he gave her before Kiba opened his mouth, "You know kid, I never asked for your name. Don't know if I mentioned it or not. But I'm Kiba. Misogi Kiba. If you've heard of it before I have a bit of a reputation. Meaning I get into trouble. Like a lot." Kiba laughed at his own joke but noticed the girl didn't and grumbled with the takoyaki stick hanging from his mouth.

"Uhm the last thing I remember being called. Was Yume. By some man. Some man dressed in white." She was very soft-spoken just as before then went back to eating.

"Hmm. Yume then. Alright, Nice to officially meet you. A dude dressed in white? Your parents ditch you at a hospital or something?" Kiba implied with his eyes narrowing over to Yume pulling her food from her lips and crossing her legs with a shiver. "Hey, I didn't mean anything by that comment."

She shook her head very slowly and clenched the stick in her hands, "I don't know where they are. It's been a really long time. I was taken away from them. Then taken to the men in white."

'Amnesia? Was she put up for adoption? If so, she was taken by the wrong people. But how did she end up here of all places?' Kiba pondered upon finishing his food and noticing she did as well. "Hey. What do you say we hang out today?"

Yume looked up at him curiously while finishing the last of her snack, "Hang… out…?" This was almost an entirely foreign term to her.

"Yeah kid, don't play dumb. Let's both hang out a little. I'm sure you could use some time away from that box. And I could use the time away from my dorky friends." Kiba made another snarky laugh but deep down thought once again, 'Not like they need me there anyway.'

Yume picked up on his vibe and moved to grab Kiba's wrist again answering his question with a nod.

"Thank God. That was going to be super awkward if you didn't. Alright. Let's head off." He threw their trash away, thanked the vendor and began to walk away before being stopped by the vendor.

"Hey Kiba. I don't see you swing around with kids much but you must know you can't carry her around in rags." The old man at the stand comment while fumbling around with his stand.

"Can't argue with that I guess. How does that sound to you?" Kiba tucked his head around to Yume who had her shaggy hair somewhat covering her face nervously. "You're going to have to drop that eventually if you wanna have fun."

After a short stroll and an even more collective amount of dirty looks and comments that Kiba gets on the regular. They made their way to a children's clothing store. Kiba never having experience with this sort of thing took a couple of deep breaths and made his way inside. The atmosphere of the store was off-putting to him and discomforting for him. "Let's hop to it… pick something you like?"

Both of them stood there in dead silence while the other customers hustled around the store. A few minutes passed without progress before Kiba walked her over to a rack and began digging through clothes. Yume stood there gawking at Kiba until he pulled a hand full of clothes off "Hey. Try these on. They are within my price range. So I hope you like them. You know how to use a dressing room, right?"

Yume took the pile of clothing and made her way into the room. Kiba waited patiently and quietly for her to emerge until a few moments later Yume came out in a pink dress and small sunhat. "These are a lot different from what I'm used to…"

"But it looks nice. I think. Do you like it?" Kiba questioned watching as she looked at herself in the mirror. She nodded back quickly which made Kiba sigh in relief, "I've only ever had myself to shop for. This is very weird for me…"

He heard her little feet tapping on the floor, running over to him and giving him a hug. Kiba's eyes perked some and watched as she was buried into him, shaking. "Her calm down. It's not that bad, right? We can find something else and…"

Yume quickly shook her head and looked up at him with tears filling her eyes, "No one's ever offered to buy me things before. You're a lot nicer than you seem. Why do you hurt so bad if you're so nice Kiba?"

Kiba went silent once again, the smile he'd accumulated during that time faded some. Instinctively, his hand struck him across the cheek and sighed which made Yume worry from the shift in her expression. "Nevermind the small details! Look. We'll settle for that for now. How about we end today off big? Ever been to a toy store?"

Yume covered her mouth and shook her head quickly, beginning to jump up and down excitedly. Kiba saw this and worked his smile back while going to pay for the clothing. The two left the store once again with Yume clinging to his hand. The two spend the next couple hours roaming the biggest toy store they could find in Upper Bodou. Their eyes didn't divert to a single comment or hateful glare. The two spend a vast amount of time fooling around in the toy store, almost breaking several products and many threats along the way but it didn't dampen their fun.

The two finally departed from the store with bright smiles and the clouds finally a parting way to reveal the slow midday sun. "Just in time huh? You seem to be getting along nicely with your new friend."

Yume let off a soft giggle and nodded quickly giving the stuffed doll she picked out a hug. It had long brown hair, well-stitched button eyes, a dress very similar to her current attire and a wide smile.

"Alright. Let's relax then. We've done a lot of running around so far. Back to the park for some swings?" Kiba offered to her with a grin she felt was much more genuine than the one before. That earned him another joyful leap from Yume almost dragging him down the street. "Hey! Hey! I'm the grown-up here!"

Finally making their way to the park they originally left some hours ago. The sun was moving down, a beautiful amber shade painting the sky and finishing a satisfying day. Hand in hand, Kiba and Yume made their way past the same food vendor as before. The old man that advised Kiba before locked eyes with him as he was packing himself up for the day. He had noticed the wonderful job Kiba did taking care of the girl and gave a very approving nod and took off pulling away with the stand.

The two stopped in the middle of the park and searched for a spot to relax in. Kiba felt a hasty tug onto his hand and Yume pointing towards a single swing. Kiba nodded and guided her over, picking her up and placing her in the seat with soft pushes to her back.

The two watched the sky in silence for a while and enjoyed the scenery until Kiba spoke up, "I hope you enjoyed today. I honestly needed a day like this. I'm sure you did too."

Yume giggled and nodded quickly to his comment but cut the laughter short looking down at her dress and doll, squeezing them."Uhm…"

"Speak up. Don't have me keep reminding you." Kiba teased her with a soft brush of his fist into her head making her pout.

"Will… will I see you again?" She asked in a sort of frightened, disheartened by fear even which made her grip the doll tighter.

"Well. I'm not leaving Bodou any time soon. And I'm sure you aren't going anywhere from that alleyway. " Saying those words left a sour taste in Kiba's mouth but he didn't correct himself, only kept pushing.

A small gasp of air seemed to escape Yume and her head hung. This caught his attention quickly trying to comfort her. "They'll come for me again…"

"Are you talking about those guys from earlier? Ah, I'll take care of them if they come back." He pats her head which made her flinch and shake her head in response.

"N-no… I mentioned them before… the men in white coats and black suits. Sometimes they would come and I'd run… I see them all the time." Yume's tone was horribly distraught, cracked but Kiba persisted and reached down to hug Yume but his eyes flashed wide for a moment in shock.

"Yume… you said that you were taken in by them? How did you get away from them? How long ago?" Kiba nervously asked until he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder and snicker.

"Too nosey as usual Kiba." As soon as he tried to turn his head, someone's heavy fist punch the side of his head and another kicked him over.

Kiba groaned and gasped heavily trying to catch his breath and speak out to Yume before he could see his attackers, "R-run! Runaway Yume! Now!" Another kick to Kiba's chest made him cough but he grabbed the leg of the person, watching Yume hop off the swing and run away as fast as she could.

"She's running away. Down the alley. We have visual." These words were clearly spoken into a microphone from one of the men above Kiba while in his dazed state. The man whose leg he clung to shook him off and ran after Yume. Kiba forced himself off the ground, holding his stomach and stumbling. He was thankful that Yume was fast and made it away from the men, so he followed.

The men made their way down the alley Yume ran too, Kiba right on their tail. The men cut a couple of corners until a loud scream could be heard. He knew it was her. Kiba doubled his speed around the corner only to be greeted with a shovel to the back and knocked over.

"Well ain't it might fine meeting you here Misogi my boy. And with a little friend." Kiba curled over and hunched in pain but his eyes flashed in fear knowing that voice too well.

Kiba tried to put himself back to his knees onto see his suspicions were correct. "Benkei… Ah, fuck you're the last person I thought I'd see here." Holding up Yume to his chest was a large, muscular Japanese man riddled with piercings and tattoos, a sleeveless bomber jacket, ripped jeans and a bandana wrapped around his neck. Besides him were two similarly dressed men, one of them was one of the guys Kiba attacked earlier in the morning. As if planned, the two men dressed in black walked past Kiba and joined Benkei while another two of Benkei's men walked behind Kiba.

"You've run away from us for far too long, girl. You're coming back with us." The man dressed in black said reaching for Yume who was still kicking and panicking in Benkei's arms. The man was met with a blade to his throat by one of Benkei's henchmen. "What's the meaning of this?"

"Tsk tsk mister businessman. You can't just up and take my end of the bargain without paying me. That's just dumb on my hand to drop her off to you perverts." Benkei mocked the man squeezing Yume making her scream more. Kiba reflexly moved forward to her but stopped once he heard a click.

The suited figure, which was too familiar to Kiba, growled and conceited, "The last of the chase group is around the corner. We do an even exchange."

"Sounds fair to me. I think I'll keep myself busy." Benkei tossed Yume to the floor violently until she tried to crawl back over to Kiba but her head was pressed to the floor by another man next to Benkei while he walked over to Kiba.

"Let her the fuck go! I knew you weren't shit but you took money from these dickhe-" Kiba's mouth ran off automatically on emotion and caught a kick to the jaw and saw the thug behind him point a pistol at his head.

"You got a lot of fuckin' nerve coming at me like that Kiba. Injuring my men, running from your debt, trashing our bikes. I got a damn good bone to pick with you. And I'm gonna pick at every bone you got." Benkei went on to grab the shovel that knocked Kiba over and slammed it into his wrist to loud cracking noise.

Kiba shrieked in pain holding the arm, Yume was wriggling on the ground frantically in tears clawing the dirt to get to him.

"Oh, this is going to feel too good. Remember earlier." The man with the knife, the man from earlier that Kiba had pranked. He walked up with the knife and approached in. Kiba's mind tossed around a million questions but fear for Yume was the most. "Just a little payback." Kiba's eyes started at Yume almost like he was begging her not to watch as the man trailed the knife over Kiba's cheek making it bleed and stomping him.

"Big bad shit talkin' Kiba. We finally get to put your ass in the dirt. No one will miss you. You've been a thorn in everyone's side for years." Benkei took the shovel to Kiba's leg this time.

The words stung more than the blows, Kiba was at a breaking point of tears. 'I'm at this place again! Am I really this fucking scared!? She's going to get hurt! She might die! Move you fucking pussy! Summon your fucking Stand!' Kiba begged and pleaded with himself to little avail. Yume was screaming his name over and over while clawing for him.

"Time to put an end to this. Don't you think Misogi boy? I'll send a nice basket to your folks. As if it would matter hahaha!" Benkei snatched the gun away from his boy and pulled the hammer back.

Kiba went silent as he pushed off the ground and shakily slumped over onto his knees with his broken arm at his side and starting down Yume who didn't stop calling to him. 'This is it huh? I'm so scared of losing everything. That I'm going to die losing it. What a tombstone that'll be. Poor thing. We had one day together. Please be okay. Be a good girl Yume… I'm sure Johanne will save you. Like he always does. So long little one.' His eyes slowly faced in tears, watching Yume slowly fight harder and scream louder. On the final call, there was a loud bang and then silence.

"What the fuck… There ain't no way. I shot this fucker. There's smoke coming from the barrel and everything…! Shoto! You see this shit!?" All this commotion was Benkei panicking in disbelief.

"I sure as hell not blind, Big Benkei! You fired the gun! His brains should be all over the ground!" The thug who was behind Kiba commented in fear as he saw blood was dripping from the back of Kiba's hair but no bullet wound or blood in the front.

Kiba caught onto this in their talking and slowly opened his eyes to see Yume still crying but she was different. There were faded translucent wings and arms coming from her back and a small sharp feather pile next to her. 'W-what the fuck is that…? Are those wings? Is that what I think it is…?'

"It is Kiba. You're finally awake to see the show. You can thank me later." A very booming, stern voice was heard next to Kiba but only he reacted to it. His head turned over to see a long coat on the ground and a hat.

'Wait. It can lead to my thoughts. That looks so familiar. Where have I seen those items before?' Kiba's mind was swimming in pain, emotion, and possibility. Until he finally looked up to see a very stoic figure dressed in a long robe and jacket that seemed to emit a glow from its skin and had long hair that climbed down it's back to the thighs. Piercing hazel eyes and a toothpick in its mouth. It wasn't human.

"I better look familiar. Don't expect me to show up in this form often. It was thanks to that girl I was able to be drawn out. You've changed Kiba. On the brink of life and death in its truest form. You've ascended past your shell and accepted your weak heart. Now begins your path to salvation. You know me as Evanescence. But I take this new form in your dying moment. You have this last chance. Use it wisely. With this gift of 'True Fiction', I've cured your wounds emotionally and physically. They've essentially become 'Fictional' if you are confused." These bold words shocked Kiba. He was unaware of how to respond, breathless at the sight of his stand in this new form. Kiba clenched his arms and tightened his legs, there was no pain. He was no longer bleeding and he could breathe.

While everyone else was still in a daze, Kiba used this opportunity to stand up and grin, "I should thank you then. You are me after all, so that would feel a little conceited don't you think?" Next, Kiba let out his usual cocky, overconfident laugh but this time it came from his chest with gusto.

"What the fuck is so goddamn funny!?" Benkei asked while he saw Kiba turn around to face him and pointed the gun firing off several shots almost point-blank.

"You're not trying to torture me now, are you?" Without needing a command his stand snapped causing the bullets to fade in a void. Kiba wagged his finger at the foolish Benkei while made him rear back in panic and reach for the shovel to swing again. This time to everyone around them, the shovel dented in midair before it reached Kiba and was sucked into avoiding the same. Kiba saw their reactions as priceless and taunted them more by wagging his finger. "It's no use!"

"You're some kinda freak of nature…" Benkei backed up a little more in terror as Kiba walked up to him slowly with his arms out.

One of the suited men chimed in out of fear, "The A.N.G.E.L Project. It was a success after all… no wonder the boss wanted this kid so badly." The second one grabbed him by the tie and jerked him away, "We need to leave and report this or we'll be goners too. Screw these thugs and their money."

Yume was in the background cheering happily. Which earned her a strike from the man holding her and made her shriek.

Before anyone could blink Kiba turned around very slowly with a look that could only be described as pure hatred spawned from years of welled demons. The man caught the gaze and saw that Kiba was slowly approaching him. The man panicked and begged for mercy with each moment that closed the gap until Kiba's hand reached out and a powerful fist was sent into the man's chest making him fly back and slamming on the wall gasping for air but couldn't seem to reach it. "You'll die an unforgivable death for harming this princess. Your lungs. Have become 'fictional'." The man clawed and stabbed his throat desperately for air but eventually stop, left to a withering husk.

Kiba kneeled down beside Yume and picked her up laid back in his arms and smiled, "Are you okay?" He saw brushed some of the mud and tears from her cheek. His stand moves its hand in sync with Kiba to ease her pain.

She nodded quickly but continued to cry, this time from joy while hugging around his tightly. This gave him a sense of relief seeing the wings disappear. Soon after his stand faded into its normal self very slowly, "So long Kiba. Until you need me next time. I'll be my normal self." Kiba took notice of this change and nodded, "So long. Evanescent. A fitting name I'd say." This earned Kiba an approving smirk.

Benkei and his boys muttered to one another about sneaking away but we're stopped by Kiba cutting them off. "What more do you want Misogi!? You've humiliated me again and killed one of my men! What more can you possibly want?"

Kiba and Yume looked at one another and grinned. Kiba then walked over to Big Benkei and sat Yume down in front of him. "I want everything. You either leave this alley one of my subordinates or you leave this alley a corpse. How about it?"

Benkei felt heart-shattering defeat fill his chest but knew after what he saw. There was no choice but to kneel before Kiba. "F-fine. My gang. My turf. It's yours. Happy now?"

Kiba laughed almost maniacally but felt his jacket get tugged by Yume who puffed out her cheeks and adorably glared at him for his behavior. "Ah heh. Sorry, sorry. But one more thing." Kiba kneeled down to meet at Benkei's eye level and placed a hand on Yume's head which confused her. "You and your gang will help me put our lives on the line to keep her from those assholes there. She's now an untouchable princess. Your life is hers. Got it?"

Yume's eyes welled up in tears of joy from those words. She was overwhelmed by this deed that Kiba proclaimed. Benkei exhaled all the fear from this lungs and nodded in agreement despite losing everything he worked for at the drop of a hat.

Kiba stood back up and stretched with a deep sigh as well, "Man fuck today. Let's go home Yume. I'm going to make us dinner and take a three-day nap." He walked last Benkei and pat his shoulder as if dismissing him. But Yume was confused further. "Aren't you coming? This alley isn't a place for a princess to live. My house isn't the best but you got a bed and cartoons. Come on. And be at my place early, 7 sharp for breakfast men! That's an order!"

Her usual shivering legs leaped at the opportunity and hurried beside Kiba, grabbing his hand and letting out a loud giggle.

Benkei stood up and looked around at the rest of the gang who were just lost on what all transpired. Benkei rubbed his head and ripped away from his bandana, "You heard the big cheese boys. 7 sharp. Move out…" Slight displeasure filled Benkei's words but left, all the same, to assume his new position and spread the word.


	16. Chapter 16: Dealer's Choice

**Hello everyone, Leon here! Finally updating the story. Yes, I know. It took forever compared to a lot of my prior releases. I completely understand that. I won't even try to justify it with an excuse. It's entirely my fault. I'm here to do what I can to redeem myself. I started my story posting a chapter a week at a creative high. I've sunk and sank out of my own laziness and lack of motivation. I'm here to say I'm so very sorry to you all and I won't give a giant speech about change but I promise you all my absolute best! These things hit hard and unexpected. I know what I want to write but my fingers won't move sometimes. Inspiration is a tough thing to hold onto at times but I'll do everything in my power to give you all the story you deserve. Thank you so very much to everyone who stuck by me through this hardship. Please continue to enjoy the story and yell at me to hurry up if you need to! I don't mind really. It shows me you guys care and I needed that to push through this block. **

Morning comes once again in our troubled town, children and teens of many sizes flooding and separating on the streets on their merry way to school. But the biggest crowd of them all parted ways and stared indefinitely almost frightened at the large group coming through.

"Make way for the boss ya chump!" A rather rough and thuggish voice was heard, followed by familiar crackling laughter and a rather charming giggle.

"Well done boys. Were moving much faster than usual. You'll be handsomely rewarded for this overtime work. Isn't that right princess?" The remark coming from Kiba at the center of the with Yume sitting on his shoulders nodding profusely.

Johanne, Jesse, and Avelessi all turning their heads to him in utter disbelief that they were being escorted by an entire gang led by Kiba. Johanne eventually spoke up, "Okay so, not that I'm complaining here. Or have an issue. But what did I miss leaving you alone for one day man?"

"A whole lot actually my friend. I gave you the bare minimum yesterday but this is the entirety of it." Kiba responded with a quick nod, Yume leaning over to add, "Kiba and says they are our friends now!"

"Yeah, that's going to take some getting used to. No offense Yume." Johanne took a bite of an apple scratching his head that was filled with so many more questions.

"I, for one, this is an interesting turn of events! We get an escort to our first day in public classes and a new friend! How wondrous! Don't you agree?" Avelessi was basically bouncing from joy at this point turning to Jesse.

Having barely caught the attention of him, Jesse removed the earbud from his ear, "I'm sorry, did you say something?" Which made Avelessi silently glare.

The group continued their commute until they arrived at the large school that was separated into grades for all. Very expensive and pristine, large white marble walls, extremely posh clean windows, not a lick of trash could be seen. An ideal school for the gifted type. Johanne stepped forward and pointed to a large set of doors, "You all should head that way. They are expecting a lot of new students today along with you all from an exchange program. Wait there with your papers and we'll see you all later." Jesse and Avelessi nodded in agreeance.

Kiba took Yume off his shoulders and crouched down to her with a smile, "You behave for now alright? They have you under my parent's names but they'll come running to me if anything happens. Be good and listen to the teachers." Kiba calmly instructed. Yume quickly clung to him in a shaking embrace, nervous to finally go to school like a normal child but reluctantly stepped away to join Avelessi and Jesse. "I'm counting on you boys."

The two of them nodded quickly with an unspoken promise to their friend, immediately Avelessi took to his ramblings about the extraterrestrial. Johanne and Kiba made their way to the main entrance of their large school building following the usual flow of traffic with a meager silence between the two. Johanne had many questions for his friend and Kiba had seemed to be reborn as a new man, a change neither were used to entirely.

Around an hour later, everyone in their corresponding grades sat in their gymnasium for the announcement of the new arrivals. The room was very large, always freshly cleaned and coated in marble with many sports-related murals painted by the students while multiple trophy cases lined the walls. The room filled with chattering students who filled the folding chairs. Kiba and Johanne sat beside one another periodically exchanging glances until Johanne spoke up, "Okay look. I get what you said back at my place. But what the hell man? Now you're a gang leader and a babysitter."

"So that's how we're putting this on the table? Jeez, at least work me up to it. And sort of. Yeah. Almost dying over and over again makes a man rethink things. Now I've got a chance to start over. " Kiba responded entirely out of his usual tone until the momentary silence was broken by him punching Johanne in the arm.

"Ah! Damn. Alright, alright. But we gotta be careful man. Just like you took them out with that weirdly mutated Stand. Thugs can only do so much again Stand Users." Johanne smiled at his companion back.

"Weird part is. It didn't seem to stick." Images in Kiba's head of this morning flooded his mind. "I woke up this morning and my wounds were gone. And the pain. But when I summoned Evanescence. It was back to normal. It didn't speak either as it did. Yume couldn't bring those wings back as well when we talked to Jotaro."

Johanne nodded in thought, "Kaito has been doing a lot of undercover work. Looking into older buildings they ran operations. Specifically, the ones used to testing like they were. So many dead bodies in an attempt to make a perfect stand user. They ended up making normal survivors' lackies. But… she got away somehow. And has been living on her own since. She's a real trooper."

Kiba nodded in agreement with a cheeky smirk, "Just like me. Which is why I agreed to keep her. I'm more than sure I can handle this. I've matured a lot. She might not have control over her stand yet but I'm sure with time-" Kiba was suddenly cut off by the sound of the microphone buzzing and testing coughs.

"May I please have your attention? I've gathered you all here on this fine morning as a strong welcome to our culturally diverse to our newest students. Please give a warm Bodou City welcome to our exchange students and recent additions." The principal's speech seemed bothered and rushed. He stumbled over words and fidgeted with his collar a lot. With a swing of his arms, he motioned around 19 students coming from behind the stage curtain including Avelessi, Jesse, and Yume. One by one he introduced everyone by name individually.

Johanne sat back with his arms folded returning the wave to Avelessi but keeping his eyes on the principles peculiar behavior. Next, the principal spoke again, "Ah it seems there is one of our students who is a late arrival. His introduction shall be postponed. Nevertheless, please show your support and encouragement to our newest additions. Do make them feel welcomed."

The entire room erupted in applause excluding Johanne who was deep in thought and Kiba who was taking pictures on his phone. The students bowed to the crowd and the principal went on reading school policies and some achievements the students had made in their prior engagements to fill the time.

Around three hours later, Kiba and Johanne are in a classroom doing all but paying attention to a lecture about modern-day literature. Kiba was flipping through his photos while Johanne's eyes scanned the outside of the school. 'All of this stuff around me lately is coming to be a test of my everything. What can I trust nowadays without getting stabbed again?' Thoughts along those swam in Johanne's mind until there was a knock at the door.

"I would hope this is a relevant interruption. Right in the middle of my lesson. You may enter." The female teacher spoke fixing her glasses.

The door swung open to the loud clicking of schools and a soft but direct male voice, "Do pardon me, teacher. I was held up in the office for some late registration." A boy dressed in the utmost standard uniform for the school's attire accompanied by a bow tie. Pressed khaki pants and solid black dress shoes. His hand flicking through slightly wavy combed-back black hair similar to Avelessi's. A smile painted across his dark skin, pursed between dark horizontal lines below his eyes.

"The late student from the morning assembly? How rude of you young man. I suppose it isn't too late though. Would you like to come before us and introduce yourself?" The teacher stepped down from the board to take her seat.

"Certainly ma'am." The boy walked up to the board and slammed a piece of chalk against it instantly catching everyone's attention, especially the zoned out Johanne. The boy spoke in a silky tone as the chalk traced across the board, "I'm an exchange student from America. I was one of the tops of my class yet never seeker over achievement. I saw a very interesting opportunity in discovering the people here in the culture pool that is Bodou City. Therefore…" with a swift drag of a line underneath the name he wrote on the board he smiled across the class and stopped at Johanne, "My name is Daniel J. D. Jr. And it is a pleasure to meet you all."

There was a light applaud throughout the class and a bow following the instruction of the teacher from everyone. "Now if you'll please Daniel. Take your seat over there. It has been prepared for you." The teacher instructed going back to her lesson.

"Jeez, and I was wondering about this random empty seat. Thought there was a ghost student." Kiba hushed his comment as Daniel was passing him to move behind him in the back.

The lecture was nearing its end as Johanne stopped his pondering. A folded note was passed to his desk with a soft thump from Kiba beside him. Johanne's eyes darted over for a moment to see Kiba frantically motioned his eyes to the paper.

Johanne slowly unfolded the more to see a small circular mirror that they both shared, 'Weird. He only breaks this out during tests to steal answers.' Johanne thought for a moment until he skimmed the paper and quietly gasped.

"Dude! This new guy is freaking weird. He won't stop staring at you with this flustered smile. You think he might be into you!?"

Johanne raised an eyebrow at Kiba who was openly uncomfortable and motioned his eyes in the mirror. Turning his wrist just barely with the mirror in hand, Johanne glanced down to see Daniel starting right at him, in the mirror even for the moment their eyes met and he retreated the mirror, taking a soft breath when the bell rang.

Kiba quickly gathered his stuff and snatched Johanne out of his chair, running immediately out of the classroom.

"Hey hey! What's the big deal man? I almost busted my ass." Johanne caught his footing and glared at Kiba.

"You saw my note man. That dude is super into you. No one just smiles like that. What a creep." His body shivered at the thought of the smile lingering that long.

"I'm sure if he is like that. Maybe he just doesn't know how to come up and say something. He seemed like the showy type. Give it time. I'm sure he'll come out." He rummaged through his bag on his way to put the mirror back but caught a glance on the edge while he was walking down a set of stairs and saw someone watching them at the top.

A short walk later the boys slide open the classroom door to find Avelessi and Jesse sitting at a table in the science room.

Avelessi frantically waved to them while chewing the rice from his bento box. Jesse was still listening to music and toying at the hamburger in front of him. "Ah, that guy never seems to be cliqued in."

Jesse almost instantly slipped off his headphones and started over, "I can hear fine. I'm just not too fond of your local burger joints. It's a real bummer."

"Yeah, you gotta head down to the hot spots in lower Bodou. That's where the good grill stands are. None of this fancy crap." Johanne chimed in sitting down across the table from them and unboxing his lunch. "How's the first day going so far boys?"

Jesse took a bite of his burger and slid his headphones back on, "Same old school for me. A lot of Japanese but I'm used to it from my Dad. Thank God this town is multilingual."

Avelessi on the other hand almost jumped out of his seat, "Simply extraordinary! I met so many people, made a lot of friends. I've always been taught from home so this is a welcomed change! I've missed out on quite a lot in my days. I'm looking forward to it all."

With snide laughter, Kiba was rocking back and forth in a chair and ripping pieces of paper out of a notebook and took them into the trash, "You get weirder and weirder by the day. It won't last long. Sooner or later you'll be like me. Practicing your bank shots during class. " He said landing another few balls into the trash in quick succession, "Swish~ Like Michael Jordan."

"Certainly you must be part of the basketball team landing shots like that." Unknowing to the boys there was a spectator to their conversation. Stepping through the door was Daniel with a satchel bag at his side sporting a warm smile.

Kiba's relaxed demeanor immediately shriveled into discomfort with his response, " Eh Nah. I haven't really had an interest in that. I'm just too good at wasting time. Killed my lunch and I'm waiting on these slowpokes."

"Ah, I'm sure I could tempt your palate with something." Daniel reached into his bag and pulled out a very well packaged, chilled fruit pie with white chocolate shavings over it. "Think you can bank a few shots off the walls and door for it?"

Avelessi popped up beside Kiba whose face was still scrunched while Kiba was speaking, "I uhh don't think that'll work out. I don't have anything to wag-"

"But I do! Hold on a moment!" Avelessi tossed around his belongings in his backpack and pulled out a neatly wrapped box removing the cloth over it to reveal some beautifully aesthetic bright half chocolate cookies "Use these! Special imported Bulgarian Honey Cookies dipped in Belgian chocolate! I've regained some of the privileges from my home and I was sent over some by my Butler."

Kiba reluctantly sighed looking at offer and balled up another piece of paper, aiming it very quickly at the wall and bouncing it off with ease, hitting the door on the way down and into the basket. Johanne, Daniel, and Avelessi clapped while Kiba took his bow.

"Very well done! I think I'll have to try and beat that. I was fond of that. Double or nothing?" Daniel took two pieces of paper and walked further back than Kiba, "What do you say?"

Feeling his skill being tasted Kiba scoffed and folded his arms brushing it off, "Whatever you say, man. You don't know who you're messing with."

Daniel looked over at Avelessi who was fawning over the two snacks while Johanne tried to shoo him away before he ate the prizes. Rearing his arm back Daniel carefully aimed the two balls to bounce off one another and the wall, then the door, into the trash can. "Hmph. Simply done. My prizes ple-"

Avelessi was about to break into absolute despair before him in horrible whale sounding screams and relinquished the snacks until Kiba walked up and shook his head, "That's not going to fly with me. I got a reputation to uphold. Last round. Winner takes all."

"Oh but my friend what more do you have to give me? I'm sure all the others have finished their lunch surely you jest." Daniel went forward to collect as Avelessi nodded in agreeance with his empty lunch pouch. Johanne showed his empty bento box. Jesse dropped his headphones with a shake of his head.

Kiba frantically shook his head searching his pockets, "alright look. Name your price. I got about 4500 yen in my pocket right now."

Daniel let off a rather audible laugh and waved his hand, "Dear boy. I don't think I can bring myself to take your money. That won't do at all." Tapping his finger over his chin several times and looking around the bunch, Daniel snapped with a grin, "How about this. In exchange for our little game, if you manage to win. I'll take you for my prize… your soul!"

The entire room grew dead silent with the answer that came from Daniel. It was something that shook Johanne's suspicions to the core and made him automatically jump up, "Listen here, new kid-"

Kiba rolled his eyes and cringed at the words that came from the fellow student, "Yikes! I figured you were a sci-fi nerd but I didn't peg you for one of those creepy Voodoo fanatics. Fuck it. Whatever gets me to beating your ass faster."

Johanne's eyes flashed open at Kiba's reaction, he didn't take his words seriously or at least no warning bells. "Think about this real quick."

Jesse chimed in as well, setting down his headphones, "Don't let your pride get the best of yo-."

"I want to hear you say it. Nice and clear. 'I wager my soul!'. Or do you choose to back down in fear? I wouldn't mind raking in my rewards. It was an easy pot, to begin with." Daniel went on relentlessly with his verbal assault. Kiba being the renewed man he was and refusing to give in to fear stepped forward.

Furiously tearing away at three pieces of paper out of the notebook and walking back further than Daniel was, he held up the paper balls in the declaration, "I wager my soul! No way I'm getting chumped by the weird-ass new kid."

"Very good! Take your turn!" Daniel stepped out of the way, placing the prizes back on the table and opening Kiba up for his throws.

Taking a deep breath and raising his hand, with the utmost concentration and force he launched the balls through the air with a mighty wisp. The balls collecting good speed, the group seemed astounded aside from Daniel. All three made their first collide across the wall, the first one flew straight in. The second ball ran along the rim and fell in. A beat of sweat ran down Kiba's face as the third one was about to bank off the classroom door at the very same angle it always does and victory seemed within his grasp.

"Hey, was I supposed to come in now?" Despair filled the room as the door quickly flung open just before the ball could bank off it and rolled past another student that entered. "Uhm…"

Everyone in the room was dead silent for a moment until Kiba who choked on his words, "N-no fucking way… that doesn't count, right? Interference..."

Daniel snickered viciously under his breath while he picked up the piece of fruit pie and unwrapped it, taking a bite. "Oh, you most definitely lost. You didn't land your shots, interference or not. You officially forfeit your soul."

Kiba began to nervously laugh at the statement and waved his hand while walking over past him to pick up the paper ball, "Alright drop the shit man. I get you're new and all but you can't go around freaking people-" His sentence was immediately cut by him stammering on the last word, his entire body going stiff and motionless, "...out."

Johanne perked up in shock at the sight before him. There was a large series of transparent chains with the links all shaped differently in the patterns of Hearts, Spades, Clubs, Diamonds running through Kiba's chest stemming from Daniel's arm. "No… I knew it wasn't that simple… KIBA!"

Daniel retracted his arm continuing his wicked laughter and with a pull of the chain, a very phantom-like figure shaped like Kiba flew out with a loud scream of Johanne's name. Daniel twirled his wrist wrapping the shrinking specter until it began to shrink into his palm, closing it. Biting into the cake once again, turning to the group whose eyes were widened in horror as Kiba's body dropped to the ground limply, and Daniel opened his palm to show a card between his fingers. Avelessi screamed when he looked closer and saw that it was Kiba's body on an Ace of Spades. "A fine addition. Wouldn't you say?"

"No way. No actual way…" Johanne dropped down and rested his back against the table. His eyes narrowed over to Kiba to see it motionless, his eyes devoid. "I let it fucking happen…"

The boy who entered the room stepped forward and cleared his throat, "So. Can I get that pie you promised? I did as you said."

Avelessi stepped forward and pointed to Daniel who was rummaging in his bag pulling another slice of the pie neatly wrapped in his bag, "What does he mean!? I knew I felt a gross serpent in your gestures but this is just low to dishonor a gentleman's bout!"

Daniel shooed away the boy and turned to Avelessi, "It was a very easy segway to my scheme really… He fell right into the handles of my stand, Luck Be A Lady!" The chains around his arm fell into a pile of cards that eventually unfolded into a growing vortex of more cards. Once the vortex came to a halt there was a large bulky legless figure made of five sections connected by chains, both arms, the head, and waist. It was a jumbled creature with three fingers made of pointy metal. A pyramid-shaped head with multiple numbers and card suits running across the head. It was dressed in a Victorian-style suit with a red vest covered in card suits and poker chips. It seemed to have a roulette planted in the center of its chest with 3 7s and a lever sticking out of it's the shoulder.

Stepping forward and tossing the card with Kiba's face into the pocket of his stand, making it pull the lever and made the card form in all faces of the roulette. "The boss said this one was so prideful. I just had to find the trigger. It didn't take long. Luck Be A Lady is a standability that seems very common in my family. I could guess the same for you as well Johanne Kamijou! All I had to do was trick him into a 'gentleman's bout and make him lose his soul was mine for the carding!"

Johanne got off the floor with a growl pouring from his lips, "Another fucking goon from the Boss. Well, he fucked up now. You better give Kiba back now…!" He said approaching slowly with M.C.R beside him cracking its knuckles.

Refusing to budge from his stance, Daniel shook his finger with a grin and opened his arms, "Don't even think about it. Beat me all you like. I won't let him go without a proper win. But who am I to say proper when I paid off that boy to come in moments after Kiba bet his soul! Hahaha!"

Another growl escaped Johanne's lips as he was about to speak once again but was shoved aside by Jesse who stepped forward and tossed his jacket off, "I've had just about enough of this shit! You want a damn win!? I'll give you a run for your goddamn money!" The young Joestar was infuriated, his hair was raised again showing his rage-filled self was taking over, in his palm were 3 old brown and white-colored dice. "You'll be sorry you ever tried to step up to us. I'll show you how we do things in the slums of America!"

"VERY GOOD! TWO JOESTARS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE! I, DANIEL J. D'ARBY JR. ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE! SAY THE MAGIC WORDS!" His hands were pridefully sprawled out as wiped the remaining items off the table and slammed his hand against it.

"I wager my soul for Kiba's!" Jesse's body mass seemed to grow with his frustration almost cracking the dice while his eyes met with the devilishly cocky stare that Daniel bared. The two of them clashed wills as the chains expanded from Luck Be A Lady and wrapped over Jesse's arm initiating the challenge's beginning!


	17. Chapter 17: Luck Be A Lady

The isolated classroom continued to be a warzone for the young combatants but in a game, they never thought they'd be locked in. Gambling.

Avelessi had moved Kiba's empty vessel to the side as Jesse and Daniel cleared their playing field away swiftly, "G-goodness this isn't right… I should have paid more attention. If Father taught me anything, it's how to spot a con man. This is the most devious of the plot. Hang in there Kiba. We're getting you back."

Daniel snickered at the comments provided by Avelessi and nodded, "According to the Boss, he used your father to break countless deals. Rob fortunes at the drop of a hat. He had quite the detector for abnormalities. Of course, some of that would rub off to his son. Particularly why I had to condition your attention with an addiction." The snicker crept into laughter but was soon interrupted by Jesse slamming his fist against the table.

"Grr! Come the hell on already!" Jesse impatiently taunted him while gripping the dice tighter.

Daniel waved his hand forward with a snicker, "Now, now. I never asked which style are we playing? American? Chinese? Japanese?"

Before another nationality could be named right after the other, Jesse pointed his fingers at him and proclaimed, "Roman! The creators of many dice games."

The very masculine grains of life pushed out in every word excited Daniel and made him fix at his bow tie slightly. "Very well then. The terms of those games if I remember correctly. Tali yes?" Daniel reached over for one of the cups that was set aside for the lunches, slipping a handkerchief from his sleeve and brushing it off with a smile, "We shake the dice in the cup, much like Yahtzee. Best hand wins. I assume outside of set hands, we'll go by higher round. You can add dice by betting round wins. First to 5 round wins gets the gold. Am I correct in assuming how your part of town partakes in this game?"

Jesse was almost impressed if he weren't so pissed, constantly tossing up the dice in his palms back and forth openly showing Daniel that he was tired of this talking. "You didn't need to express that to the peanut gallery. It's between the two of us." Jesse proceeded to slam the dice into the table.

Daniel shook his head with a grin, "Such a brute. You have no place at the table. Maybe the bar to watch the rounds but never my table. Listen here, you've acquired those die from god knows where. Who knows, those might be your lucky family dice. A good luck charm. That certainly can't be fair, correct?"

Jesse's gaze perked up in anger, almost disgust at the implications that spewed from Daniel's mouth, "What exactly are you trying to get at jackass?"

Daniel pointed his finger smugly and snickered, "Tell you what. I'm always willing to give and take fighting chances. How about we meet in the middle?" Daniel reached into his heavy-looking cluttered bag, rummaging around the sound of various loud items until he pulled out something small which made Johanne and Avelessi lean in responsively.

Noticing how antsy the room was Daniel opened his palm to reveal there was a sealed transparent package of six dice. It seemed to be freshly bought without the slightest broken seal to them to show it was an unopened parcel. "We'll use these rather than your… flimsy nicknacks."

As insulted as Jesse felt, the reasoning was there and he refused to argue the semantics of his decision and rolled with it, reaching in to take the dice from Daniel, but his palm swiftly shut.

"Hey! What gives!? I'm just going to look at the sealing!" Jesse grew angrier by the moment especially at the small gestures like that.

Daniel shook his finger at Jesse noticing that he was fuming with rage and held up the parcel once more, "By accepting these dice from my hand. You'll be accepting the terms of our game. Understood? I don't have all day to be buying time from you all. I paid off our privacy, I intend to not spend a dime more."

Johanne gulped softly and spoke up from behind Jesse with a glare still piercing Daniel, "So that means… he'll have to agree."

Daniel snapped his fingers, extending his finger to point at Jesse, "Correct! You must agree to the terms under my stand, offer your soul Jesse Joestar!"

Jesse's eyes shut for a moment, his rational side beating around focus in his head with the side of him filled with rage but overall stomped his foot forward and pointed, "Fine! I wager my soul!"

A soft gasp escaped Avelessi's lips and Johanne shuttered in anger and suspense as well. They both knew that from his point on, there was no going back.

Daniel tossed the wrapped package to Jesse along with sliding the cup across the table toward him, watching him take his time to look over the wrappings for breaks or tears. Daniel took a small fingernail file from his pocket ever so slowly which sparked a reaction from Johanne who quickly jumped up and summoned his Stand. "Don't make any fast moves. Anything you decide to reach for is going to be considered suspect at the finest."

Responding with nothing but a scoff, Daniel brushed the file across his nails in a very confident yet cool motion only smirking, "Am I not allowed to occupy myself while my opponent rids himself of doubt? I'm simply grooming myself."

"No. Because I don't get you. Your motives are horribly sketchy and mediocre at best. I know they've sent kids after us before but you aren't a normal kid. Are you?" Johanne replied in full deduction.

Daniel folded his eyes shut and paused the filing of his nails. A deep breath escaped his lips as he narrowed his eyes to Johanne and Jesse. "Both of you have that look in your eyes. The very same look my father described to me. Arrogant. So confident in yourself that you look down upon me. It's sickening. All of you Joestars is a curse."

Jesse stopped examining the dice long enough to take an interest in the words when his last name was spoken. "What beef do you have with my family exactly?"

The room went silent for a good minute as Daniel lost his cool expression and turned into an icy glare towards Johanne and Jesse.

"You want to know why?" Daniel asked as his hand gripped the file in his palm tightly, "Honor. Pride in one's family is the beef I have with you." Soon the nail file was pointed at Jesse, the strain on the grip tightening.

Johanne and Jesse glanced at one another then back very swiftly almost anxiously.

"Years ago. Many years ago. I've had this story told by my Father, Daniel J. D'Arby Elder. He was in the biggest gamble of his life against Jotaro Kujo. The father of Jesse Joestar. And lost. Oh but not just any loss you see. HE LOST EVERYTHING. I wasn't born at the time but I assure you I felt the backlash of his fall as a man!"

Daniel concluded in anger, gritting his teeth now until Johanne went forward to comment, "So he lost. What's the big deal? Everyone loses-"

"Shut up you rat! This wasn't just any loss for my father. Nor my uncle whom I haven't even heard from! He was also subdued by Jotaro! My father became an angry, abusive drunk as I failed to pick up his teachings! All he wanted me to do was grow and be better than the man he was and crush the Joestars! He was a legendary gambler and took pride in his every victory! His ruthlessness is how my Stand came about! This undeniable wrath I bared was my fuel! My ambition! That loss tore our lives apart and I will see to it you all pay for Jotaro's deeds!" The nail file was slammed into the table and broken in a fit of rage from Daniel, his hair was a mess now, beating sweat and panting heavily.

The room grew quiet again, everyone was shocked looking over at Daniel. He was out of his mind they all thought for certain. Johanne swallowed and stepped back thinking, 'We need to deal with him. That stand of his is a menace. I'm sure he'll planning to do what he did to Kiba to all of us…'

Jesse scoffed and spit on the floor, "I don't care what you think of my old man and whatever he did. Hell. I think he's a shithead too. But don't involve me with him." His finger shot over to Kiba's lifeless figure and growled, "I didn't have many friends back in America and I actually give a shit about these bastards. You can off my old man any day but you laid a finger on them. So I'm done talking. Catch the die or catch these hands. Either one is fine with me." To which Jesse returned the dice and Daniel caught them while fixing his hair.

Jesse's statement sparked inspiration in the group, he truly felt like a reliable teammate name. Daniel took a deep breath and broke the seal of the dice, "I see we have an agreement then. Say the words."

They all knew too well what was coming, just like before but our barbaric friend didn't hesitate with a swift slam of his chest, "I bet my soul!"

"Excellent! Let the games begin!" Daniel swiftly grabbed the cup from the table and tossed the dice into it. Swiftly and vigorously shaking it then tossed the cup which only held two dice and rolled 8. "A fair start. Your turn." Scooping them back into the cup and passing it off. Jesse took the same initiative and shook the cup enough to his satisfaction and tossed the dice onto the table, landing a 5 which made him groan. "What a shame my friend. I'll be rolling first then."

Collecting the dice once again, Daniel rhythmically hummed while shaking the cup and tossed the dice onto the table landing another 8. "Must be my lucky number. Wouldn't you say, young Joestar?"

"The game's just begun. Don't get cocky." Jesse took the cup and shook it quickly, launching the dice once more without a shadow of doubt and landing a solid 10.

"Oh! You won the first round, Jesse!" Avelessi chimed in with a cheer which made Jesse grin and Daniel roll his eyes.

"I suppose that was to be expected, right? Me and my big mouth. Round point to you. You may roll." Daniel's hand retreated to his chest resting near his collar.

Jesse took the lead he had and went for another roll, landing a 7 which was discouraging low still acceptable. Daniel followed up in his turn staring down at the cup and after fidgeting his bow tie. His hand shook the cup, tossed the die once more landing on a set of snake eyes, 1s. The boys cheered happily as Jesse secures a second victory.

"No way… Jesse is crushing this." Johanne whispered as he observed the game. The boys didn't say a word as the next round progress, "The way he moves his hands, it's as if he's puppeteering the dice themselves. This comes from years of practice. Finding his own techniques. Truly a man of the slums."

"I'd like to bet two wins to add two dice." Jesse some rather shocking words that earned a gasp from Avelessi and Johanne, to which Avelessi added, "He's going for the kill… no way he can lose on an advantage." Daniel took a soft sigh without care and brushed a couple more dice toward Jesse.

"Do as you please. You lead this round my friend." Daniel almost mocked him, his finger affixing his collar anxiously. His nerve was showing in Jesse's eyes and he intended to bury this gamble.

Tossing the two cubes into the cup and shaking them vigorously, Daniel observed closer and watched him throw them onto the table. The room went quiet once again but soon a rage-filled fist hit the table, "Tsk tsk Mr. Joestar. Only managing to sum up to 4? Talk about bad luck. I suppose your technique was respectable. Who knows. I could brick as well."

Daniel collecting the dice into his palm, into the cup they went and a short shake later he flung the dice to the table and celebrated his victory with a laugh. "Well, would you look at that! Two dice and I get a 9. A very valiant effort. I'll take my 2 wins to your none. Next round."

Jesse growled under his breath and watched Daniel take his turn with a soft gasp, "Ah. A pity. Never count your chickens right?" Jesse was slightly relieved in his mind seeing as Daniel rolled a 5 with the two dice he rolled.

"You've got this man. Play just as you would back home. You've got us backing you up." Johanne assured Jesse, which calmed his shaking fist and cleared his mind. He was sure of this victory. Shaking the cup once more and tossing the dice, Jesse grinned as the results turned out to be a 7.

Daniel rolled his eyes at their childish celebrating and rolled his wrist respectively at the win and let him continue his turn. Once again, Jesse's hands swung the cup with confidence landing another 10. Daniel's eyes peered at him, toying at his collar, readying his turn.

Jesse thought to himself, 'Hah! This guy's father was some legend? Don't make me laugh. He gives away his tell every time. I can tell when he tugs at the bow. He's cracking.' His grin grew wider seeing that Daniel once again lost the round. 'Breaking even now. Easy win.'

Daniel brushed his palm across his forehead and took a sigh with another fidget of his tie and raised his hand as Jesse was starting to load two dice, "A moment Young Joestar. It seems desperate times call for desperate measures. I'll bet two wins! Two extra dice!"

Gasps filled the room once again, Jesse's eyes perked in interest, feeling he was truly getting cornered but he couldn't waste this chance. "This kid is insane…" Johanne comments with a nip of his lip, "He's betting it all here. Jesse will lead from there…"

"I'll call your bluff. Two wins. Two dice." Everyone had faith in Jesse and swallowed the hardest lump in their throats to support their companion.

"Good! Continue the game with your rolls." Daniel retreated his hand to his collar and toyed around with his tie some more. This brought Jesse to a wide grin, figuring his suspicions were absolute and throwing the dice with the same technique he'd administered before. Watching the dice hit the table, Jesse took a small sigh, a decent roll. "Let's see if you can beat 12."

Daniel's original expression remained somewhat blank but interested as he collected the dice directly from his hand at the collar and began to shake the cup around humming a gentle tone, "Here we go~" The dice fell to the table from the cup at an almost unseen angle and hit the table. Avelessi fell to his butt in disbelief, even Johanne was taken aback by the results. Jesse was close to losing his breath as Daniel's snickers filled the air, "Well, well, well. As if I could be so lucky. 24. A perfect set of 6s. It almost reminds me of something. I'll take my 4 win advantage please!"

Jesse's eyes grew blank and his nerves were lost, 'N-no fucking way… I can't believe this… He's got to be the luckiest SOB I've ever met!' Jesse held his chest in panic. He was knocked off his throne and afraid to watch the dice get loaded into the cup as it was now Daniel's turn.

"Oh, by the way, Mr. Joestar… I bet 4 wins. 4 extra dice!" Daniel's laughter grew as Jesse's heart was pounding out of his chest and watched the cup shake. Daniel slid the cup over to Jesse with the dice underneath and watched as he shook and struggled to clench it, missing several times between grabs.

"C-calm down Jesse… You never know man. He could still brick. Pull it togeth-" Johanne's eyes widened in disbelief as he saw Daniel's Stand, Luck Be A Lady, emerged from behind Daniel and grabbed onto Jesse's arm which made him panic further.

"Hah! It seems you've admitted defeat within yourself. Your being tells the tale." Daniel pressed his palm to his head and burst into laughter as he watched Luck Be A Lady slowly pull Jesse's soul from his body and his limp figure fall backward.

Johanne quickly went forward to catch him and clench onto his friend tightly, his eyes shaded over, quivering in rage.

Avelessi's eyes welled up in tears and fear, his worst nightmare coming true. Watching as Jesse's screaming soul was sucked into the machine-like Stand and rolled the slot in its chest "N-not again… I can't lose everything again… please no." As Avelessi moved over to hold Jesse's hand, he got a feel of the dice in them and gasped, "wait… that isn't right…"

Daniel snickered softly and folded his arms over his chest, "Oh? Did we notice something after the winner had been declared?"

Avelessi growled in a low tone as he took the dice from Jesse's palm, glaring ever so hateful at Daniel, "These are weighted… they're manipulated dice. The faces aren't covered by a cheap plastic replica costing to feel like normal dice…"

Joanne gasped and listened at the two banter as Daniel chimed in, "Observant as ever. But never quick enough. Just like the first fool. Daniel undid his bow tie and revealed a small switchboard underneath it that read high, low, even, and odd.

" You used modified dice that changed on a trigger whenever you pressed the switches. You used Jesse's anger and confidence to slip the win under his nose! You dirty, rotted, Figlio di puttana!" Avelessi's hamon surged through his arm quickly crushing the dice in his palm revealing the circuits that filled the devices.

"Haha! You're far too late to have figured that out Young Barlem. He's already admitted defeat in his heart and lost out of his lack of observance but I'm sure you would have picked it up. Such a fool." Daniel couldn't help but smirk staring down Avelessi until his line of sight was broken by a trembling Johanne.

"This ends now." Johanne struck his signature pose, his anger swelling and point his finger from his chest to Daniel. "I'm your next and final opponent D'ARBY!"

"Good! I was hoping to narrow it down to the least likely candidate. And boy did I prepare a special game for you. Since your group picked the last game." Daniel kept his gaze locked on Johanne while setting his cluttered bag on the table and pulling out a smaller case.

Johanne narrowed his eyes briefly to the case as it was slowly opened and let out a deep sigh. Avelessi's eyes stared in horror at the decision of the final game, "Y-you… you're a fiend…"

Daniel pulled from the case with a crooked smile, a single revolver and a small set of two rows of bullets. "You want to save them. I can see it. You'll have to play the ultimate game. Say the words. I know you have no choice."

Without a moment's hesitation, despite Avelessi physically restraining him, Johanne stepped forward and held his hand out, "I wager my soul!"

"Hahaha! You've truly made my day. I could shed tears of joy. You may have the first round. We go until we drop or quit. Obvious as that may be." Rolling the gun around on his finger and holding the butt to him.

Johanne took the revolver and popped the barrel giving it a sharp examination. He reached for one of the bullets in the rows with a glance back to Daniel, "Go ahead Johanne. Any bullet you like." Johanne nodded grabbing a single bullet from the middle of the row and slipping it into one of the chambers, spinning it quickly, and taking a deep breath.

"Oh goodness! Oh my! I can't watch it. I simply cannot!" Avelessi quivered under the hold of his arms, crying out for his mother under his breath until he heard a click and a sigh from Johanne.

"I suppose that's the first round huh? Heads up asshole." Johanne flipped the gun around and tossed it to Daniel who didn't appreciate the comment and caught the gun. After taking a short breath and staring down Johanne, he pulled the trigger and there was a click.

"You seem to be taking this very lightly Johanne. Perhaps I need to raise the stakes to show you how serious this game of ours is." Daniel popped the barrel open and pulled out a bullet from the box and loaded it into the barrel, slamming it shut and playing the round holding his breath. Johanne watched this and snickered. "W-what's so damn funny?" Daniel asked passing the gun.

Johanne looked down at the gun and back at Daniel, "That you're such a piece of shit that you're afraid to die. I bet your old man was just the same." Johanne placed the gun to the side of his head and pulled the trigger, leaving his face as straight as ever. Click once again.

"What did you say about my father…!?" Daniel snatched the gun as it was passed from Johanne and spun the barrel of the gun once again his frustration showing and clouding his judgment, putting the gun to his head and pulling the trigger again without adding a bullet. His breath shook for a second as he slid the gun across the table.

"You heard me. Your father must have been a coward as well to raise a kid like you. You have to walk into the slums ready to die…" Johanne said popping the chamber open and knocking the bullets out, "Every day." He said putting three fresh bullets into the barrel, giving it a good spun and placing it to his head.

'This cocky little SHIT!' Daniel thought as he watched Johanne closely. The very steeled aura in his stare as he placed the gun to his head somewhat chilled him, 'He doesn't know he's already being played! I picked every bullet in this bunch out myself. I picked the ones I know for sure are duds. You'll never know when your death comes. Or will you shake in your little sneakers?'

Two clicks later, Johanne put the gun to the table and slid it over the table which made Daniel groan at the failure of Johanne setting off the gun, "You know nothing of the legendary man my father was! The great efforts he went through to get the reputation he had! DON'T YOU SPEAK THAT BLASPHEMOUS BULLSHIT!" Daniel smirked knowing the rules and matching the times Johanne pulled the trigger, he didn't hesitate this time knowing Johanne loaded two blanks even refusing to add more and passed the gun.

"Gained some more confidence this time around? Did bravado get your tongue? Your father was a nobody. He wasn't some big shot Kenny Rogers and He'll never be that. You'll go down in history as just another D'Arby that lost to us." Daniel was a shaking angry mess as he watched Johanne but stopped at a shocking turn of events. Johanne took all the bullets out of the chamber and laid them out on the table, after that he grabbed the cup they used for the previous game and the box of bullets and emptied them into the cup.

"W-what the hell do you think you're doing? That wasn't agreed!" Daniel began to pant heavily, his plan was falling apart in front of him and he couldn't stop it without raising suspicion.

"I'm not doing anything illegal to the game. I'm just changing the bullets. Not adding my own. Not using different bullets. Just picking. But there's one thing I forgot to mention…" Johanne slammed the cup on the table holding up 4 bullets between his fingers with a glare, "You won't be history. History would be remembered." With the comment, Johanne loaded the barrel swiftly and slammed the chamber shut, the spinning was moving so fast it was almost unseen by the human eye. Daniel's palms were sweating and his eyes twitched frantically, he was baffled at the guts but almost entirely lost it as Johanne stared him straight in the eye without a flinch and pulled the trigger 4 times as fast as he could, almost like lightning.

"JOHANNE YOU'RE A MADMAN! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!? YOU DIDN'T EVEN THINK TO PULL THAT TRIGGER!" Avelessi was just as distraught as Daniel was, his eyes rolling to the back of his head and falling to the floor.

Johanne spun the gun around his finger and held the butt of the gun to Daniel, "Your turn big man. 4 pulls. Don't keep us waiting."

Daniel wasn't well. He could barely move his hands, his eyes were doubling everything in his sight and blurred to a mess. It was nearly impossible to grab the gun. After several tries he finally managed to loosely grip the gun and stared at it, his heart and breathing almost echoed in the room. "I-I can do this… I'm lucky! I'm the best! He taught me to trust it…! I CAN DO IT!" His arm was convulsing out of his control as the barrel approached his head. Daniel glued his eyes shut being a sputtered mess and groaning as he tried his damndest to squeeze the trigger.

Johanne's angered expression turned into a wide grin, he saw Daniel's stand reappear as tears began to stream down his cheeks frantically. Snapping his fingers and brushing his hair back some, Johanne commented with pride, "It seems you've given up. Your cowardly Stand appeared and those slots are going wild. Without a doubt, jeg vandt!" He declared his victory in Danish.

Daniel broke down to his knees and dropped the gun, screaming and crying as the souls poured out the souls of his friends back into their bodies. Kiba and Jesse rose from the floor slowly in a tired grunt, Avelessi rushing to both of their sides to check if they were alright.

Johanne slowly approached Daniel picking up the gun and rolling it in his fingers until Avelessi ran up and tugged his sleeve, "How did you do that!? How did you know you weren't going to get shot?"

"Simple little dude. I didn't. I knew he was going to break down like a little bitch about his Dad so I kept rolling the barrel when I fired with M.C.R's thumb and hoped I didn't hit a bullet. I guess it worked." Johanne shrugged his shoulders and Avelessi's jaw dropped at the pure guts that were shown until Jesse and Kiba walked up next to him. "Oh hey, guys. Had a nice nap?"

"Screw you, man. I've got a score to settle." Kiba said with very vicious grit in his voice as he took the gun from Johanne's hand and checked the barrel.

"Not a fuckin' chance! I'm smashing his teeth down his throat!" Jesse cracked his knuckles as his hair seemed to frill up once again, a vein thumping out the side of his head.

"Boys. Boys.I'm sure we can all come up with something to even out the odds." Johanne smiled over at both of them with a few jumps of his eyebrows and got a smile out of the both of them. Daniel started to panic against the floor, his eyes growing wide as all three of them summoned their Stands in a bright aura.

Avelessi peaked from behind the table almost cringing at the sight as the room filled with the noise almost instantly. "ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA!", followed by, "NA! NA! NA! NA! NA! NA! NA!" "HAHAHAHAHAHA!" The three rushed Daniel to a swelling pulp as his screams filled the air.

Around 5 minutes later the boys exited the room together with a good laugh and arms around one another, except for Avelessi who cringed harder at the sight of the battered boy as he closed the door behind him "Ah! Wait for me gents! I'm coming!" And so they went on with the rest of their school day, leaving Daniel defeated and reporting to the teacher that he went home early of food poisoning.


	18. Chapter 18:A Fight for two

Later that same week after the boys had their run-in with danger, it was now Friday and the school day had come to an end. Our two boys decided to stop by Megumi's accompanied by Metok to show him around some more.

The three of them sat at their usual place at the counter each with large sundaes planted against the counter. Metok stared down the treat in amazement at how different Megumi's personal touch was to this common dessert, "By the gods. This is impressive. We do not have these things back in my village. I'm not ignorant of this frozen delight but I will surely indulge greatly!"

Johanne and Kiba laughed to one another at Metok's reaction taking a few drinks of their shakes. "I'm telling you, man, You've spent too much time hulled into my backyard doing work with my dad and training Avelessi. Treat yourself every once in a while. Especially to Megumi Senpai's special sundae. Handmade ice cream, Sprinkles, diced fruit, and gummy bears! No better way to live." Johanne commented leaning back against the counter with a smile which earned him a giggle from Megumi who was cleaning cups.

"Surely you are right! It is the first time in years I've left the mountains of Tibet and I will treat myself to your delicacies young Kamijou. I thank you greatly." Metok took another spoon full and shivered in delight almost like a child.

Kiba held his spoon in his mouth and spun around in the chair, with a muffled speech he said, "You know man. It's nice to finally not get our asses handed to us so we can sit down and actually enjoy ourselves."

"Tell me about it. It's like every time I turn my back, someone is coming up to jab a knife in it." The bell rang at the door, signifying someone had come into the door, "I mean seriously, can I even enjoy a relaxing day like this-" Johanne's sentence was cut off by someone tapping his shoulder.

"Uhhh… Excuse me? Could I speak to you for a moment? It won't take long I promise." It was a female wearing a very large sunhat and a thick pink and white sweater that stretched midway to her thighs and some denim shorts beneath, very floral sporty sandals exposing her feet. The girl kept her head down slightly but from Kiba's angle, he could see large sunglasses and her hair tied into a bun.

"Ah. Not to be rude," Johanne directed to the counter, "Could it wait a short while? I'd hate it if this melted."

"P-please! It's very important. I need to speak with you." She lunged forward and grabbed onto Johanne's arm trying to tug him out of the seat which immediately put him on guard.

Johanne quickly spun off the chair backward as he was being pulled, catching his balance by having M.C.R's arm push him off the ground and catch her from behind and hold her arms up in the air, "Kiba!"

"Say no more! Evanescence!" A gust of wind seemed to carry between the two and the hat vanished in thin air along with the glasses and the tie for the girl's bun. A gasp escaped the lips of Johanne, Kiba, and Megumi as Johanne let go of the girl, making her stumble forward and barely catch herself on the wall.

"J-jeez there's no need to be so rude! I didn't mean to… Ah!" The girl very swiftly became much more audible, her appearance exposed to the rest as non-other than Kohana Miki, their previous opponent from around a month ago. "W-wait I can explain…!"

"Coming to sneak up on us again, have you? We're a lot more aware of your kind this time around. Speak up or we'll send you flying again." Kiba came forward speaking which made her incredibly nervous. Johanne was behind her with his Stand present and arms folded to his chest.

Kohana took a moment to catch her breath and stop her legs from shaking until she began to choke on her own words and hold her head down turning to Johanne, "J-just give me a moment… There's no need to look at me that way. I mean, I know what I did… I do. It was wrong and all and I think I approached this wrong…!"

Megumi began frantically laughing and slamming the large mug against the wooden counter behind them and quickly leaped over the counter next to the girl tilting her head up to face her, "Well, well, well. I knew I recognized that cute stuttering and that voice. Little Koko has come to visit her Aunt Meg, hmm?"

Utterly and immediately stupified by Megumi's words, Johanne and Kiba backed up and said together, ", A-A-A-A-AUNT!? WHAT THE HELL!?"

Megumi wrapped her arms tightly around Kohana who tried to fight the grip repeatedly and spoke, "But of course. Do you think good looks like these get passed around like candy? Hohoho~ I hadn't seen her in years. I used to babysit her all the time before she got all famous. I didn't even get the chance to see her perform when she was around not too long ago." Those very words made Kohana droop her head again and peel herself away from Megumi. "Sweetheart, what's the matter?"

Tears welled in Kohana's eyes as she fought her words again, "It was best you didn't come... I made a fool of myself. I made a greedy decision that I'll never forgive myself for." She stepped a bit closer to Johanne, "But I'm hoping you guys could… I've come to my senses. I quit the organization, I let my manager know to book our own shows and venues. I'm turning a new leaf… So would you forgive me?"

Johanne scanned her closely with his eyes, visions of that night flashed before his eyes and how he was forced into doing such heinous acts. "I mean… I don't…"

"The path to the retribution of deeply paved in mistakes. Not everyone has the strength to brave their faults in the face of their wrongs. Think, Young Kamijou. Mmm!" Metok chimed into the debate but immediately shivered while scooping more ice cream into his mouth.

"Come on hun. How can you say no to something like that? I understand the mission you're going through but if I know a sincere apology. It's that. Especially from my own niece. What do you boys say?"

Johanne leaned over past both of them to look at Kiba. He held onto a blank expression, shrugging his shoulders and gave him a thumbs-up, "Alright. Alright. I'll let it go for now. I'm not entirely buying the whole story but I can't ignore human decency." With a soft sigh, his lip slanted a tad and his hand reached out for a shake.

"Uhm. Thank you very much! I appreciate it, you have no idea how much that means to me… But there's something else I wanted to ask of you. Sort of a way to say I'm sorry." Kohana grew some more courage in her face, uncovering her hair by looking up at Johanne's stoic figure with her face painted red, grabbing onto his extended hand, "W-would you please go out on a date with me tonight!?"

Metok choked for a moment, Kiba slumped over onto the floor laughing and Megumi jumped up and down like a giddy child, "Oh this is too perfect! The two babies I watched blossom together."

"W-wait. Hold on. That's a fuckin' curveball. I mean I've never-" Johanne stammered on his words very annoyed at being put on the spot like that.

"Hey man! You could use some action. You can go on a date with your idol obsession. Hahahaha! Oh, this is too rich. She tried to kill us, man! Hahahaha!" Kiba nearly cackled a lung out until Megumi shoved him over with her heel.

"Listen. I think this will be good for both of you Johanne. Surely you just said how much you were tired of fighting and want to relax. What better way than a night out?" Megumi added once again brushing her hand against Johanne's cheek. "I know I felt transformed when I finally got Edward's attention. Oh! He's such a tough nut to crack but bittersweet as ever." She made her strut back around the counter leaving the two.

"You don't have to of course… But there's a new restaurant across town. We're both familiar with this town but its something new. I understand completely if you don't want to. Who would want someone who did what I've done? Thank you for forgiving me at least…" Kohana began to walk back out the door completely forgetting her idea in a non-stop shiver. Metok peeked over his shoulder and Kiba stopped laughing to stare at Johanne.

"Fuck I can't go around making girls cry…" He whispered to himself and smacked his head with his fist. "Hey wait." Before she could leave the restaurant, Johanne stopped her by planting her hat on her head, "You got my address when you sent those tickets originally, right? Swing by I gu-"

"Hooray! Victory!" Kohana jumped in place with her arms bunched to her chest and giggle then struck her signature pose she does when finishing her shows, "I'll have my limo escort us around 8! See ya then! Dress nice!" She almost nervously shuffled away with her.

Kiba popped up beside him and nudged at him, "Hehe Johanne got a date."

Johanne punched Kiba in the arm and sighed heavily, going back to drink his milkshake contemplating the night to come. "Dress nice? What the hell does that even mean?"

Later that night…

As the dusk crept over the houses of Lower Bodou, we find ourselves once again at the home of the Kamijou family. Inside of the home, Kiba was sprawled out on Johanne's bed reading a large Weekly Shounen Magazine with Yume beside him asleep while Johanne himself was in his walk-in closet putting on clothes with disgruntled noises pouring from the doors.

"Cheer up in there my dude. You agreed to this. Time to swallow your pill." Kiba snickered softly until he caught a flip flop to the side of the head.

"Look man I wouldn't be so shaken about this if it wasn't someone we just fought like how long ago? Plus a freaking popstar asked me out on a date. And I've never been on a date before…" Johanne confided in his friend with another deep sigh.

"Trust me. I know. We've both been some lonely sacks of life for a while but I don't think love is for me. I've got something of my own." He reached over brushing the young girl's hair but then pointing to the closet, "Now it's your turn. After we liberate Bodou, you can't just drown yourself in your studies. I'm sure you'll end up having a blast. Besides if she tried to hypnotize us again, we'll drop her ass."

The comment made Johanne snicker and raised his spirits, "Alright. I'm coming out." Nuding the door open with his foot, Johanne adjusted the tie he was wearing showing he was in a smooth dark blue tuxedo with cufflinks of Xs and Os given to him by his mother. "What do you think man?"

"As handsome as the mighty tree he fell from! Haha!" Bursting into the door with his hands proudly at his hips, without a shirt and covered in grease was Johanne's father, "My little man on his first date. First, you set out to be the hero Bodou needs, now you're heading to your first date. Oh if your mother could be here to see you, my boy." Moving over to scruff his fingers through his son's hair.

Hearing the compliments from his father filled Johanne with peace and determination, "Maybe it won't be as bad as I'm imagining, yeah? How about a picture?" He tossed his phone to Kiba and moved beside his father, disregarding how messy he was so he could cherish the moment. The two grabbed one another by the neck and shared a hardy laugh until it was quickly interrupted by a loud horn, "Ah. That must be me."

"Take care son. Don't stay out too long. You have your emergency numbers." Johanne's father stretch and yawn strolling out of the room.

"Have fun dude. I'll have the gang come searching if you aren't back by midnight." Kiba waved his cell phone and winked, going back to the sprawling.

Taking another deep breath, grabbing his cell phone, wallet, and breath mints making his way to the door. "Hooooly shit…" His eyes perked out in shock. A very long, fancy white and silver limo was parked in front of his house, all of the windows were tinted. Johanne cautiously approached the vehicle in case he was to be ambushed but instead, Kohana stepped out of the limo from the back. She was dressed completely different from earlier. Her dress was long and white with gold and pink flora patterns that just covered her chest and shoulders with a velvety scarf, heels of the color and floral design. Small golden earrings and makeup entirely different from what she'd wear on stage, almost as if it was especially for him. Her hair had been done in a beautiful large bow-like shape with a butterfly hairpin.

"Don't just stare you jerk… What do you think?" Kohana unfolded a fan from her scarf to hide her blushing face and looking away sheepishly.

He was utterly stunned seeing her like this, he didn't show it up front beside the staring but kept his composure enough to respond, "Oh. Sorry about that. You look amazing. Beautiful even. I'm a bit new to this. So you know."

A giggle escaped her lips as she put the fan away and inched over to him and hooked her arm around his, slowly beginning to tug him into the limo. "Don't worry about it. Your reaction was sort of a compliment. It shows you at least like it. Come on." She felt him hesistate at first and halted for a moment, "It's okay… There are no tricks." The two looked at one another, almost establishing an unspoken promise and nodded.

Johanne entered the limo alongside Kohana to see the extremely fancy vehicle. It was unlike anything He had ever seen before. "So this is the way you travel by the day? Hard work really pays off."

She rubbed her cheek softly and let out a posh sigh, "Of course… it's never easy but I suppose the perks at the end of the day are nice. I don't know how much longer that'll last."

The comment made Johanne curious but he didn't prod any further as it seemed rather somber. Leaning forward and pressing some buttons, one of her tracks seemed to play over the radio which made Johanne's cheek perk, "HeartBeat Hurricane. One of my favorites. '' Another comment that earned a giggle from her as she observed him. Continuing on, he tampered with the dimmer on the lights even changing the colors here and there. After almost shutting them in the darkness he stepped back and groaned at himself.

"You can ask what everything does. I don't want this entire date to be us stranded because you broke down the car or something." Kohana commented moving over and clicking the buttons to restore the lighting.

"I've always been a curious individual. If something caught my eye, I have to tamper with it until I get tired. That usually takes a while. I've never seen a car so tricked out. Most I've seen are speakers and a few TVs. You've got that and then some. And a mini-fridge!" Johanne exclaimed upon seeing the fridge.

"That's a very redeeming quality for you to have. It really shows." While he gazed at it, Kohana opened the fridge to an angle that Johanne could see the fully stocked fridge with small snacks, candies, sodas, sparkling water, fruit and a bottle of champagne that she'd reached for and pulled out with two glasses. "Care for a drink?"

"Don't you think we're rather young for that? Not to sound like a goodie two shoes or anything but I can't promise what'll happen if we head to a restaurant hammered." Johanne joked reaching for the glass.

Kohana burst into soft bubbly laughter pouring them both a cup of the sparkling fizzy beverage holding it out to Johanne. He took the glass swishing it around very hesitantly and didn't drink at first. His eyes shifted over quickly, watching her stare off into the distance through the window while she drank. After a few sips, he lost some of his suspicions that the drink might be spiked and drank from his chip.

"Hey." She said very calmly averting her gaze back to Johanne with her glass held out to him, "I know we are pretty young to drink. But that's all the more to enjoy while we still have the chance. Letting loose. Even just for the night. Cheers?"

Trying to shake his reluctance for the both of them, Johanne took a slow approach and clinked the glasses respectively and took his drink as the two remained silent for the rest of the car ride.

Sometime later they finally arrived at the building. It wasn't anything huge but it was very new, freshly built from scratch it seemed from Johanne's perspective and it was even harder to believe that he hadn't known about it.

"I got a tip from my manager that this restaurant was opening up and that I should show up to give it some good publicity in the eye of the rich folk. You know with being this icon I suppose…" She rubbed her arm sheepishly looking away. Johanne could tell the entire idea made her uncomfortable.

"Well, luckily we're heading in at night, right? Shouldn't be that crowded. Let's head in. I'm sure we can get a nice window seat." He took a step over, his arm flinching for a moment and offering it to her. She noticed the gesture and her folded cheeks smiled holding onto him as they walked into the building labeled, 'Chercher Le Garcon'.

"Bonjour! Konnichiwa! Welcome, Madam and Mister to Chercher Le Garcon. Do you have a reservation?" Johanne jumped quickly as he was surprised by a younger-looking but obviously older than him a man. He had bright orange hair and wore a frilled white shirt covered in a solid black vest and dress pants and shoes holding a flip board and shorting the cheerest smile, it was incredibly welcoming compared to the usual type he'd run into.

Kohana stepped forward and greeted him with a curtsy, "Yes sir. We have a table for two under the name Miki. Thank you."

The man's eyes seemed to shine in excitement as he crossed his arms and bowed to her, "Goodness! How blind could I be? We have a celebrity in our midst. Oh. Right, this way. We saved a special table for you. With a clear view of the kitchen and the window overlooking the night sky." He pulled out the chairs for both Johanne and Kohana, grabbing a few menus from the tray table beside them, "Both of you enjoy your night. We'll send someone by with water and if you have any requests for drinks, feel free to ask."

As Johanne moved to take his seat, something seemed to trip him over and catch his leg making him nearly smack his head into the side of the table with a gasp but he caught himself on the edge of the table.

"My goodness, sir! Do you need any medical attention?" The server and Kohana rushed to Johanne's aide to help him up from his tumble.

"No. No. I'm fine. Just rather clumsy I suppose. I can take it from here." Johanne rubbed his leg some feeling a slight soreness and thinking to himself. 'Damnit. One glass of champagne can't have me losing my shit. What did I trip on…?' While he tended to his ankle, he rubbed his eyes staring at the carpet, it seemed to have been slightly bunched together then flap. 'My eyes are playing tricks on me, right? It's a rug. Right.'

"Johanne are you sure you're okay? That was a nasty fall." Kohana dusted off his pants and helped him to his chair which he kindly discharged the gesture with a smile and sat himself nodding.

The two resumed the evening with their table filled with silence for quite some time. After a while of them swishing around the water in their glasses Johanne finally took a long breath and pointed to her, "So, this was your manager's idea? What kind of food does this place serve? It's giving off a very multicultural vibe. I'm not used to higher society."

She folded her hands next to her glass of water and nodded quickly, thankful that the silence was broken, "Well as you can tell. It's not a normal place on the surface. It sort of tends to the customer. Food from so many places. The menu seemed to die for!" Her fingers unfolded and pushed together at the tips nervously, "The ideal place for a first date."

There it was again, she was very fixated on that idea but he didn't feel the same and it bothered him. Picking up his glass and taking a drink, Johanne asked quietly, "Why did you want me to come with you?"

"Excuse me?" Kohana hesitated for a moment and her lips pursed shut slightly.

"Why did you want to go out on a date with me? I mean. I'm sure there is someone a lot richer. A lot cooler. Someone you didn't want to kill at one point. But you chose me, Johanne Kamijou?" He further advanced his point.

She became incredibly quiet out of fear and her fingers began to shake frantically, her head lowering again as she spoke. "To tell you the truth… I meant it when I said I made a mistake. I told you back then when we fought. I had to strive a lot to get where I am. But I don't think it was worth it to hurt someone that meant a lot to me."

"Someone that meant a lot to you?" Johanne questioned with a tilt to his head.

"I mean you. I knew it was you. The boss explained it so clearly and I knew. But I still took the job. I was afraid to refuse because I would throw away the confidence you gave me years ago to pursue my dream but I ended up failing you anyway. Go figure, right?" She gave off a very shallow, pained snicker under her breath.

"What do you mean? What did I… Wait a minute? Years ago? The only girl I really remember talking to…" Johanne's eyes perked further at the thought when suddenly his glass burst in his palm and shards of glass fell onto his hand and his shirt coated in water. "Shit!"

"Another accident!? You have to be careful." Kohana rushed over to the other side of the table seeing a shard sticking out of Johanne's hand and a few cuts. She took her personal handkerchief and slipped the shard out and brushed off the scratches.

"Finish what you were saying. Were you that girl from back then? Back in grade school? The Sandbox Singer?" Johanne entirely ignored the injury and took her hand with his free one which made her stare over to him.

She stopped mending the wound to nod slowly, "That was me… I didn't look as pretty as I did back then. I had those big nasty glasses. Overalls. My hair was in pigtails. I would try to escape to the sandbox every day to sing alone when I was sad or lonely. Then all those kids finally found out and began to bully me whenever I came out to play there. Day after day they drove me away from the sandbox. And then…"

"And then I came over when Kiba didn't show up to school that day." Johanne was almost speechless at the thought that this was the same person.

"You screamed until your lungs got tired. You told them you'd kick their butts if they kept making fun of my singing. That I was going to have a talent no one else would and be better than them all. You inspired me that day." A tear fell onto Johanne wound that trailed down his fingers, "I never forgot that day… Until I was given the order to kill you. I betrayed my heart that day and I regret it ever since. When you spoke to me the day you defeated me. All I saw was that brave boy who stood up for me. I fell for him all over again." Her palms started to shake as she let go of Johanne's hand and turned away, "I need to go to the restroom, please excuse me."

Johanne was stunned once again. The memories all poured back to him. "I was so clouded by all this going on that I really brushed over a precious memory huh? I was speaking my mind back then. Fuck… I made a girl cry again. Mother would have my ass. I better clean this hand. Waiter! Can you please clean this glass? It was an accident."

The available server bowed to him and quickly withdrew to get some cleaning supplies while Johanne made his way to the bathroom. Hurrying over to the sink, he looked at himself in the eye and sighed, "You're so tense, man. This isn't you. Just take it easy. Maybe I'm overthinking."

Reaching over to pour water onto the cuts, Johanne turned the knob on the sink and suddenly the handle broke off along with the nozzle and a large jet of water knocked into Johanne's chest, flinging him backward, "Gah shit! My back! Whoever did the construction of this place did a shitty job man. They should have called My Dad and me up here. M.C.R.!" Taking a knee his Stand manifested and took a few quick jabs at the water solidifying the stream so it stopped spraying him but his ear twitched and noticed above him that a look light fixture came barreling down. "NANA!" M.C.R smashed the fixture in the blink of an eye while Johanne panted nervously, "What the actual fuck… This isn't normal."

Taking a moment to collect his composure, Johanne removed his jacket piece from the tuxedo and sighed, "I'm sure Dad won't be mad if I explain what happened. He hates crappy landscaping."

Johanne brushed himself off with a paper tower absentmindedly and happened to bump into Kohana as she was exiting the women's bathroom and they both quickly bowed with a swift, "Ah! Very sorry. That was my fault."

They had heard the voice of the other and paused indefinitely and stared down for a moment until Kohana broke the gaze and turned around, "L-look after tonight you don't have to see me again. I just needed one night… I know you still hate me and-"

"Watch out!" Johanne tackled her forward and pressed her to the wall which made her gasp quickly and her entire face flush red.

"Oh, my such young in passion. A bold display of affection from these men nowadays. Oh ho ho ho!" An older woman guest dressed as fancily as Kohana was passed the two as they were stuck to the wall, returning to her table.

"Oh goodness! Francis you fool! Do you want to get us to shut down already!?" One of the servers quickly went to ask the two of their status. Johanne was violently growling at the man as there was now a gash across his arm. Kohana looked over to see the knife sticking out of the wall and the wound then brushed her hand over his arm then clenched him.

"Unacceptable! This establishment has been nothing but harmful to my friend and you will do something about this horrible service before we leave! You don't understand the weigh my word holds for my home town and I will not let it be slandered by terrible service." Kohana had shoved Johanne aside and asserted herself directly to the man who quickly got down on his knees and begged for their forgiveness while another two went to tend to Johanne's arm.

"Free meals on us. No charge for any service. You call and we are there. Please madam Ko-Kohana Miki." The server practically gave them the house to stay in service as they guided back to the table and seated.

Johanne rolled his arm quickly to loosen up the bandages with a soft sigh as he looked over at Kohana who pursed her hands together again with her eyes closed trying not to lose herself, "That was rather impressive. Definitely a long way away from Sandbox singing." She reopened her eyes to a smiling Johanne as it seemed to calm the quivering beast within.

"If I may interrupt you two. We would like to provide you both with our chef's grand dish. If you'll allow us your final chance to impress for the night. I promise. It will be to die for."The server from the doorway had returned after hearing about all the mishaps warmly smiled at the two. They looked at one another for an answer.

"I don't mind… if you're willing to stay that is, Johanne?" Kohana's expression melted to that of a kitten which was hard for any sane man to just shove aside.

"Heh. I mean. I guess… You were my ride here. I'd hate to ditch out like that. Wouldn't be much of a hero. Yeah? I'm sure this crap shack can impress us once more." Johanne brushed his thumb under his nose with a grin. She giggled with a nod to the server who returned to put the order in.

"Man I've gotten my ass kicked before. But this is such an unexpected turn of events. I'm going to need a good night's sleep tonight." Johanne brushed his palms, laughing at himself.

"I wish things ended up better. Especially for the first and last date, I'm sure. I had the entire evening planned out." Kohana circled her finger along the rim of the glass.

"None of this is your fault. Don't get all pouty yet. I'm sure they'll bring this food and it'll be pretty bomb! A fancy place like this is bound to have an amazing chef." He noticed her gaze was still locked away from his and it troubled him, so he took a deep breath and tapped her forehead softly, "Hey. I want you to know. It's not your fault."

"It's not that… It's just that I've given everything up and the world seemed to have cursed me. Just my luck, huh?" Kohana let off a rather disheartened laugh.

"You're talented. That's one thing the boss can't take away from you. I'm sure of it. If you have to work a little harder, it'll be worth it in the end." Johanne folded his arms over his chest and nodded which brightened her smile again.

"Ah! The food is here!" She commented excitedly as the aroma coming off the enclosed trays was heavenly, she almost felt herself jump out of the seat.

The server took a step back and bowed to them both once again as they revealed to see some very steak and shrimp in the center of the plate garnished with vegetables with some spaghetti flaked with chives and parmesan.

They both grabbed their forks and chopsticks respectively, placing their hands together, and saying, "Itadakimasu!"

Kohana immediately went for the seafood portion of the dish and wiggled in her seat from the flavor, "Oh! These are actually scrumptious! You have to try!" She fished another shrimp from her plate and held it up to Johanne's lips.

He looked at her with a snicker and wrapped his lips around the fork and took a few chews into it, "Yeah it's not bad. Tastes really different from what I'm used to. Weird." Next thing, Johanne scooped some of the spaghetti between the chopsticks and took a large slurp of the bunch with a soft gag, "Damn. There's too much spice on it… What a shame. It had a great initial taste. Maybe I'm being too picky."

"GAH! TO HELL WITH THIS BRAT!" Very angry voracious screaming could be heard from behind the kitchen as the Head Chef came storming out of the kitchen with a large knife in hand. Johanne and Kohana turned to see he was across the room pointing it at their table, "You! Insulting my food…!"

"Hey, hey take it easy. Everyone has to take criticism man…" Johanne rose from the table with a hand rose and next thing he knew a few clicks were being heard over his shoulder.

"Don't move a goddamn muscle or you'll be cheese." The Head Chef exclaimed as the knife that was behind him seemed to flash past Johanne's cheek when he turned to see the clicks and the blade grazed his cheek.

"What's the meaning of all this!?" Kohana rose from her seat nervously as she was tugged beside three of the fake servers that were revealed to have three large guns pointed at Johanne. Her eyes fading into deep fear while the civilians and actual servers dove to the floor in hiding or crawled for the exit.

"The jig is up Kamijou. You fell for it all. Hook, line, and sinker. I was hoping that I could serve you your final meal in peace but you've made that impossible." The Chef snapped his fingers as Johanne felt his wrist being slammed and pinned to the table by the cloth and the spaghetti locking his limb.

"I really can't get a damn break huh? Not even a lunch break. You fuckers are unbeliev-" Johanne felt someone elbow him across the jaw which angered him even more.

"Good job Ms. Miki. You played your part perfectly, truly the star idol you were born to be. Once the boss hears about this. You'll be promoted beyond your wildest dreams." The man let out venomous laughter as Johanne's eyes flung over to Kohana who was holding her chest and shaking her head.

"No! These are lies! I've changed Johanne! Please believe me! I wouldn't do this! Not again!" Her entire being was shaking in confusion, as she set up as well? Where did all this new information come from?

"Oh, nonsense! You're telling me your manager left you in the dark the whole time? Never. All you had to do was play the cutie damsel in distress and profit. Now, boys, let's get it done." The chef ordered. Johanne's eyes overshadowed by his hair trying to free his arm.

'Damn this is a fucking pickle… M.C.R can't free me and block all the bullets at once. Foolish!' Johanne thought to himself slammed his free fist against the floor.

Kohana's confusion very soon turned into pure rage behind the scene, she had pieced it all together and it shattered her, "My manager… All he cared about was money too… It's always the goddamn money! I'm sick of it! He didn't care about me or my feelings. Bad Romance!" Kohana's eyes seemed to glimmer bright pink for a short while as the men beside her who thought they were safe all swiftly received kisses from her stand, Bad Romance and felt the instant loss of their control.

"Ms. Miki! Think very clearly before you do anything rash! You could have it all! The credit for killing the boy and all! Just stop now-" The Chef begged and graveled like a dog before her but her eyes didn't have an ounce of mercy.

Kohana rose her fingers and snapped, "LoveGames…" With the secondary trigger of her Stand, the faces rotated around to the rage-filled face and the three men began to fill one another and everyone else holding guns around the head chef including him with bullets. Blood filled the floor and coated Johanne and Kohana ruining both of their dinner attire completely.

After a few brief moments of silence, Johanne regained use of his arm again and rose from the floor to look over at Kohana who was standing there and staring at the ground helplessly. "What a joke… I was alone in this after all…"

"Don't… say that. I'd be a goner here without you. So don't go and…" Johanne stumbled for a second and caught himself walking over to her, she held onto him. "Don't go and blame yourself for the foolishness of others. Especially that man. Another puppet is given a Stand I'm sure. He knew about Bad Romance. He must have been the cause of this horrible night. Not you."

Kohana fought back her rage as she let Johanne recover from his head injury taking deep breaths with her eyes shut trying to grasp the situation. "Do you believe-"

"A touching moment, I'm sure. But that sure as hell was enough information for Chercher Le Garcon." A very familiar voice was heard and followed by some cryptic laughter. Before either of them could turn around Johanne and felt his body knock Kohana away and his arms pinned to the wall by knives and forks followed by a blood-curdling scream.

Kohana was planted to the ground, bound and choked slowly by cloths around the tables before she could even speak. They both turned to see that the very Host that greeted them to the establishment.

"Did I forget to introduce myself? Shame I was given a Stand to use when I'm not very good at acting. You may call me Kenneth DeLenore. Your executioner and Host for this evening. Let's make this quick shall we?" He snapped his fingers as another knife jammed into Johanne's back, "Hurts, doesn't it? You had my ability right though. Wrong person. That buffoon isn't the mastermind I am. Chercher Le Garcon is this very building! Anything created from this building is under my control down to every meal that leaves the kitchen complete. And now. I have every means to end you."

Johanne broke into a peal of wild laughter which confused Kenneth profusely, "You obviously didn't listen as hard as you think. This isn't my worst brush with death."

"Hah! You think you have some kind of leverage boy!? Over the hour, I've orchestrated your demise and you still have a shimmer of hope?" Kenneth backed up some to the body of the chef and kicked it mockingly.

"Sheesh… You seemed so nice too. You have such a randomly lame Stand ability to boot. I'll give you a final warning. I've already pieced together your loss from that explanation. Let us walk or get punched." Johanne turned his head to meet the man's glare.

He didn't believe the words being spoken to disrespectfully to him and it was laughable, he held his sides claiming his victory in snide. "What could you do? A bloody skewered pig? Just die already." Another few large steak knives flew across the air as Kohana's muffled screams were grabbing for Johanne.

"Tsk. They never learn. M.C.R!" His Stand quickly rushing to his aid and shattering the steak knives with a devastating punch. Next thing, his stand took some of his blood and hardened it to a fine, sharp sheet of blood and tossed it very quickly at the Host which he dodged almost flawlessly and taunted Johanne.

"That was the big plan? Surely you jest. Let's try that one more-" Kenneth paused before calling on the next command, his nose wiggled and sniffed at the air and turn to an open kitchen stove eye still running, "Is that? Gasoline?"

"Bingo. You people have the nerve to call us gullible but you fall for parlor tricks. That's rich. Now. Unless your stand can somehow or someway produce a fully usable tank of propane. Up in flames, you go." Before he could accurately dive away, the explosion in the kitchen knocked him forward and over a table groaning in pain.

Johanne felt the grip of the knives and forks loosen as he used M.C.R to free him and Kohana, "Are you alright? Can you breathe?" She slowly replied with long coughs and nods but heard Kenneth groan heavily behind them. "Hold on a moment."

Kenneth tried to regain his composure and rise to his feet but M.C.R had grabbed him by the collar of his frilled shirt and before he could say a word his body was lifted into the air and pelted with a flurry of blows until he flew into the kitchen a pummeled mess, "Pssh. I told you your Stand was lame. Idiot."

Johanne returned to Kohana's side and reached to help her to her feet until he sniffed the air again and turned away, "SHIT! WE GOTTA GO!" He snatched her from the ground bridal style and held her tight, using M.C.R's remarkable speed to launch a table through the window and made a leap for it. Yet another explosion happened in the kitchen area and chained a few more tanks, knocking him out of the window and curling around her to cushion the fall.

Both of them coughed profusely turning to one another as they watched the building before it burst into flames and the two lay against the ground for a short while to catch their breaths.

Sometime later, the two of them were both bloodied, beaten up and silently riding back in the limo looking out of opposite windows in the vehicles until they finally came to a halt at Johanne's home.

"Looks like this is my stop huh? I Uhm… I don't know what to say from here. My back is killing me." Johanne tried to use humor to break the ice but her end of the car was only broken by Kohana weeping against the window. "Hey…"

"This isn't fair… I tried so hard to make this evening perfect for us. So I could prove to you that I'm worth forgiving. I was tossed aside and lied on. The whole evening went in flames… I'm so sorry." Kohana's crying grew much louder with her face folded into her hands.

Johanne's door was opened and available to walk away from this and resume his night but a soft sigh escaped his lips, "Hey!" Calling out to Kohana who was slowly cleaning her hazy eyes and turning to him only to be met by Johanne holding her chin up and pressing his lips to hers. Her eyes widened in surprise until they slowly faded shut to enjoy the moment while it lasted.

After 30 seconds or so, Johanne slowly parted ways with her and stared down into her glittering, almost mesmerizing eyes, "Well. This was my first date. And my first kiss. So, I'd say it wasn't the worst day I've had. I enjoyed the night. It wasn't ruined. No more crying, alright? Come see me again sometime."

She didn't know what to say or how to respond to it all, she was lost in the moment as Johanne left the car door opening and hurried to his door, his face buried in red until he heard, "Wait!"

Johanne turned around to see Kohana shutting her door and running behind Johanne who was now at his front door, "What's the matter? Did I forget something?"

Kohana held her arms behind her back and shuffled her foot in circles for a moment until she slung her arms around him, "I don't want to go back to my suite yet… I can't. I was wondering if I could…"

Johanne's face turned much darker as he looked away and laughed shakily, "Oh man you put me in a bind here… I mean I suppose I could spare a night or-"

"You said you'd need a good night's sleep tonight, right? I'm sure we both could help each other with that. After showers of course…" She said with a pout looking at the blood coating them.

Johanne nearly fainted from the blood rushing to his head and slowly and politely as possible opening the door to welcome her in, "We have to be quiet… I sure hope Avelessi is over Kiba's as well…" the door shut behind them with a fluttery giggle escaping her lips.


	19. Chapter 19: Detective Avelessi!

As exciting as things were back at the ice cream parlor, that isn't the only place our lively bunch of heroes happened to get themselves tangled into. While Johanne, Kiba, and Metok handled their business with Megumi and Kohana there happened to be another topic of importance on the table back at the Kamijou Residence.

Walking into the door with a long sigh and tossing a bag onto the couch on the other side of the door, a large thump could be heard hitting the couch, "Jeez. Not only does the bloody woman flirt me to death. She works my fingers to the bone." Edward firmly planted himself against the fabric with a deep sigh. "Finally get a day off I suppose…"

The silence in the room was settling in and Edward's eyes slowly began to fade shut with a smile painted across his face that seemed like an eternity to him until…

The door swung open firmly and zip of blurred energy rushed through the door, "Ah! This is unacceptable!" The entire event shaking the pictures hung on the walls and rattling decor.

Edward jumped off the couch in anger and shock at the turn of events until the rush of energy passed him, knocking him back to the couch, and eventually stopping in front of him, "What in the blazes is going on…?"

Finally taking the time from rambling close to the speed of light, Edward wasn't alarmed in the slightest knowing that what stopped before him was Avelessi jumping up and down excessively, "Edward! Perfect! I cannot find anyone else! Or rather maybe my suspicions are correct! Or maybe they've finally been silenced in our absence! Oh dear, oh my!"

"Calm down friend, calm yourself. You've been hitting the sweets a little too hard. Kiba and Johanne are taking the day off. I saw them before I left Megumi's." Edward leaned forward and took a closed switchblade from his pocket and flipping it over to reveal a comb and fixed his hair with a sigh.

Avelessi rubbed his chin in reflection about the Johanne and Kiba comment but nodded in agreement considering how much fighting they'd been doing but rapidly shook his head, "Alright! I need to share this information with you then! It's about Kaito!"

Edward halted his combing for a moment to turn his head and put up an eyebrow, "Did something happen to Kaito?"

Avelessi placed his hands at his head and shook it, "I don't know, that's what's bothering me so much!"

"What are you getting at? Weren't He and I talking just fine around a week ago? He looks chipper if you ask me." Edward pushed the conversation forward.

Avelessi shook his head profusely and brushed his arm, "For a couple of days now. He's been incredibly silent… I try to speak to him. He dismissed it swiftly or doesn't bother in my direction. He'll come back late in the night carrying large bags and it looked like he was covered in blood…"

Edward blinked uninterestedly and leaned back against the couch, "You know we're both ex-assassins, correct? Maybe he got back from cleaning up a 'mess.' I'm sure he isn't doing anything out of the ordinary. He's cleaned up his act since joining us. Suppressing his murderous urges and all. Our job was very controversial."

"But why isn't he reporting any findings? Any leads? What's he been doing so secretive that he can't say anything?" Avelessi paced across the floor and sighed, "I could tell from the way he walked, how he moved. He's hiding something more. His mannerisms changed, he's been much more active. I have to see what's going on!"

Edward let out a loud yawn and crossed one of his legs over the other and groaned softly with his eyes shut, "You have a go about that friend. I'll be-"

"I need your help, Edward! I know you have some idea where he's been going or at least his old stomping grounds. I could pay you back generously. I need to figure this out and no one else is available!" Avelessi almost begged at this point, tugging at the edge of Edward's pant leg.

"Edward peeked open with one eye and ran his hand down his face with a deep sigh, "Make me one of those Italian minty coffees you made the other day and I might change my mind." Letting off a smile from his resting position.

Avelessi's eyes grew bright in excitement as he bowed respectfully and scampered toward the kitchen, "Right away, signore!"

Sometime later the two of them sat around Johanne's kitchen table with not a sign of their group coming through. Their plan was discussed as thoroughly as possible to make sure they could collect the information needed.

"Alright. I'll tell you this right now Avelessi. This isn't going to be in any way easy. Kaito and I were both revered in the organization as men who could get things done with ease. Almost earned us inner circle positions but we had our reserves. Kaito's been killing since his father had been taken away from him just for the opportunity to take it all back." Edward took a long sip of coffee, followed by a deep sigh.

"What are the details of that instance by the way? I mean… I remember you talking about that when you fought him at the museum but…" Avelessi quietly questioned Edward which made him grip the cup tighter.

"Kaito's father was a very well respected man. He was a pharmacist and a doctor. He ran a large store down here in Lower Bodou. He charged dirt for medication if you really needed it. According to his assistants, Kaito looked up to him as a towering god among men. But once his talent with medicine and publicity fell towards our boss. It all went spiraling down. Tohma had to make ends meet with taxes and protection fees creeping on him constantly, The boss used him as a drug mule to get through the tough times. Tohma had always been a physically frail man so he never caused much trouble. He tried to make or buy a cure for himself but it never worked out. Add that fragile nature atop all the extra work and dirt he was forced to do. Tohma was forced into an early grave while Kaito was still young. He grew into a broken tyrant of hate and murder after losing his father to illness and his mother due to the circumstances they'd been put under. She didn't like the dirty part of the job. So she took a hike. Tohma was all Kaito had left. So, here we are." Edward leaned back in the chair, fixing his jacket on his shoulders.

Avelessi stared down into his cup as a tear ran down his cheek, "What a horrible past… Anything like that would drive someone insane." Flashes of Ulysses abusing him and his mother crossed his mind as he finished the coffee.

"He's been kind with sharing that information with me while we were on a mission. Do be gentle with it. His father's final wish was to raise that pharmacy from the ground again and give back to the people. Takedown the boss." Edward rose from his chair motioning Avelessi to follow behind him as they took leave from Johanne's home.

"Alright. Where are we off to first?" Avelessi shadowboxed the air as they walked turning to smile at Edward.

"Our first step is to find him. He usually only patrolled my old stomping grounds in his spare time. I haven't been there to muscle in on the territory so it's rather freelance right now. I only come around there to deliver food and clothes to the children." Edward commented taking quick steps and examining as he moved.

"What made you decide to do that for the children Edward? Aren't you rather young yourself?"Avelessi pulled a hand full of chocolate candies and began to chew at them.

"Back overseas my grandparents run an orphanage. It's one of the loveliest places, to be honest. Always many board games and good stories as kids came through. I learned to play the game my Stand is based on there." Edward slipped a dice from his pocket and flicked it up then caught it in his palm.

"You're both such kind individuals but turned to such dreadful lifestyles… I truly respect the courage it took you both to pursue these choices. Now we just have to make sure our friend is staying on a clear path." Avelessi clenched his chocolate-coated fists together and nodded profusely.

Edward found his energy and attitude humor which brought a pretty wide smile to his lips and remained silent for the time of their trip to the information district of Lower Bodou.

A fair amount of time had passed as several people saw Edward walking through the district and kept their distance from him, knowing the legend that he carried around and some knew his face. This instance also caused him to laugh.

Avelessi somewhat nervously darted his eyes around past the large amounts of bulky thugs clearing the way for Edward. "Y-you seem rather calm… Everyone here looks so rough and tough. They'd eat me for breakfast normally. But they fear you a lot."

"You get that kind of reputation once you've run part of the underground for so long. It's quite the gutbuster for myself though." Edward felt himself get rapid tugged by Avelessi's arm as they crossed one of the openings to an alleyway. "H-hey…! What's the…"

Avelessi had quickly slapped his hand over Edward's mouth while both of them kneeled down behind a set of garbage cans. Holding his finger over his lips and pointing over the can so both could see. Edward's eyes widened slightly as he saw several large bags on the ground with multiple unconscious bodies and Kaito was there with his knife twirling it on his finger.

"W-what's your take on that one? What has he done to those people?" Avelessi question as he watched Kaito slowly take hold of one of the bags and drag it to the man.

"I don't know… He might be running collections for money. Or collecting subjects…" Edward observed closely as Avelessi seemed extremely anxious. "Don't move in yet… We watch."

Avelessi grew much more uneasy as the moments passed. They couldn't exactly get the best view from their angle as to what Kaito was doing kneeled beside the man until his eyes perked wide to see Kaito raising one of his bone knives and slamming it down. He had to quickly cover his mouth to keep himself quiet and out of discovery.

As Avelessi turned to Edward who's eyes were incredibly distraught at the sight, his teeth ground together as another stab slammed down. Edward's eyes darted over to see Avelessi about to climb over the can to confront Kaito on his actions. "W-wait. Look again."

Feeling their gaze steer a little closer, they saw that Kaito had moved the bags he was lugging around and pulled something out of one of them. He stood up and revealed himself to be unfolding a large tarp and resting it against the body laying on the ground and doing the same for the other.

"No way… He's passing out blankets to the homeless?" Avelessi's panic slowly subsided into confusion as he continued down the alleyway with the sack behind him and waiting for Kaito to get a good distance away.

The two of them hurried over to see two kids huddled under one of the blankets asleep with an elderly man curled with them as they slept, "Ah. It seems we might have misjudged this one. Strange…" Edward commented bowing to the family as an apology for disturbing their rest.

"We have to keep following him. We don't know what more he could possibly be up to. I'd like to just clear all my suspicions for certain. If that's alright with you Edward." Avelessi advanced his point with a scratch of his head which earned him a sigh from Edward.

The two let a good amount of time pass because making their move but stayed as far as they could away from Kaito's vision as a precaution. On their next stop, they see Kaito creeping along the edge of a truck and half behind another set of cars.

" Alright. We've got our next mark on him. Keep your eyes peeled. If he is doing anything suspicious this openly, surely the boss' goons are near in their black cars." Edward would prelude as he tucked his head around the car carefully enough to not expose his hair and watched while Avelessi scouted for the cars He mentioned.

Kaito waited for the driver of the truck to get on the phone and distract himself before he picked the lock to the back of the van to open it. Once he got his silent entry, He climbed through the back until he reached the front. Edward tapped Avelessi's shoulder and pointed for him to watch. Kaito placed a blade to the driver's throat and motioned him to be silent as he moved him to the back.

"We have to be quick about this. Before he notices." Edward turned away and began to pull out some small knives and a wire, "C'mon. No alarm." Working as fast as he could, he heard the truck that Kaito was in begin to start up. Edward managed to unlock the car they were behind and fidget with the wires enough to get it started. "Hop in little friend. That one isn't normal. The drivers a decoy. You can tell by how he reacted to the hijacking."

Edward and Avelessi climbed into the car and ducked down, Edward using his jacket as a cover to shade his hair and grabbed a pair of sunglasses off the dashboard, putting them on and following their companion at a steady pace. The day progressed to keep the heat off the van and the car followed with each twist and turn throughout Bodou.

After a good couple of hours in their stolen vehicles, Kaito pulled behind a large building and parked before a large docking door. Edward and Avelessi parked around a block away from the drop off locations, just far enough to lose the car but keep their friend insight. The two of them once again sneaking to a nearby abandoned building and peeking through broken windows.

Kaito got out of the large van and walked up to the docking door and banged against it with his fist several times, awaiting his receiver. The two stalking him patiently watched and examined as there was now a man exiting the large door. The man seemed extremely distressed at seeing Kaito.

"Edward, do you think this is some sort of bribe? Is Kaito holding his shipment hostage?" Avelessi questioned nervously with increasing fidgets of his hands, Kaito's bodily gestures were aggressive and motioned the truck several times. Edward simply watched for an ample moment of interference.

The man walked back out with a briefcase and acted as if he was pleading to Kaito for something by bowing several times while presenting it. Kaito snatched the case and handed the man the keys, walking off soon after. Edward left the shadows of the room to keep an eye on Edward but Avelessi stuck around to watch the man with the truck. He'd walked to the back and unlocked it and out came a child that jumped into the man's arms, they'd both seemed to be crying profusely almost joyfully to see one another.

"What was that all about…? He didn't stop once since we were chasing him. When did that kid get in the back of the truck? This is all so odd…" Avelessi began to question himself without noticing he was now alone. "Ah! I have to keep up. Edward will surely leave me behind."

As Avelessi ran for the entrance that both of them came into the building from He didn't see any sign of Edward at all. "Edward? Where did you go? We have to keep going or else we'll…" A chill ran down Avelessi's spine as he made his way down the alley towards their car. His eyes crept around his shoulder to face a towering shadow behind him.

"Or else… what?" A very soul rattling tone came from behind Avelessi but he knew exactly who it was. As soon as he turned enough to get a clear view, his eyes perked to see it was Kaito but before any reaction could form his neck was chopped and knocked him out cold. Kaito said and caught the boy with his free hand as he walked around the corner to Edward leaning against a wall. "You're both such a pain. I came fully prepared to kill you both."

Edward pushed off the wall and examined them both, gritting his teeth, "You have a lot of explaining to do mate. And we both know this isn't a misunderstanding. I figured it wouldn't be so easy to pull one over on you. But I'm honestly surprised."

"You don't know the half of what you're getting involved in. I've taken the necessary precautions to get the wheel turning. To do that I had to delve back into the business. Do you have a vehicle?" Kaito comments thoroughly and forwards to Edward as he always has. Edward stops for a moment to lock gazes with him and walked towards the stolen car.

Upon arrival, Avelessi was gently placed in the back seat and Edward took the passenger seat. Kaito and Him locked eyes in a very disgruntled silence while Kaito started up the car. "Be ready for a fight." He said to Edward sitting the suitcase in his lap.

Another drive across town later and a long wait in a parking lot very close to the factory lot, the two waited in silence for nearly two hours until two large trucks seemed to have driven past them into the lot and parked. "That's our mark. I'll do the talking."

"Don't trust me after all this time. I can tell what this is already. Those are the boss' movers. I'm guessing you're here for a drop." Edward questioned him with his fingers trickling across the case.

"I would imagine you both followed me throughout the day. I've done a good chain of favors to sort of clean my slate. I bury the man I was before along with the boss. I didn't want to say anything but I got a strong lead on the location of the arrow. The homeless were once movers for the boss that he believed were dead. I got them some supplies to keep living in the dark. The truck was another boy the boss was going to use for experiments. They lost the girl so they wanted to try again. For something better. So I found the boy with the lead from the movers, returned the boy to the father and the father was pushed into selling to get the boy back. But I solved that and now. These men in those trucks are expecting some very high-quality product."

Kaito's explanation opened Edward's eyes entirely and only a sigh escaped his lips, "That'll explain Avelessi's suspicions. He'd noticed that you've been different. He wanted to be sure you weren't wavering. I suppose we made a mistake."

"You did. You shouldn't have come. I didn't want things to turn out this way. I needed to handle this myself. So none of you got hurt." Kaito went silent again and tucked his mask back over his mouth and nose. Edward was stunned at this newer side of Kaito, 'Had Johanne changed him this much…?' Edward exited the car as well, case in hand.

The two of them approached a group of 5 men, one of them had a very strange look about him. He wore a gas mask that looked close to locked to his face, a shaggy mohawk with tattoos along the edges of his head. Just over his shoulder, a tank could be seen. He was dressed in a more casual looking hazmat suit with no shirt underneath and overalls, with tattered combat boots. The rest of the men wore glasses, tattered jean jackets and overalls with boots as well.

"Now why in the hell do ya have us waiting this long!? We gots a strict schedule and you know this bastard!" The mohawked man spoke scratching his rear and approaching ever so friendly to the men.

"Refrain from coming closer. That's far enough. I assume you know why we're here." Kaito instructed as Edward kept his head low and eyes peeled holding up the case.

"Damn right. You better not be holdin' out on us. Less the big guys be real mad. I'm sure you're aware of this." The man snickered and motioned them to advance.

Kaito's breathing had changed somewhat. He seemed uneasy, infuriated even but it wasn't shown openly as his face as shaded by the mask. His fist clenched in restraint as he motioned Edward forward with the case. He'd followed the instructions and advanced with the case, waiting for the mark to execute a capture.

"W-wait! Hold on!" Kaito and Edward's eyes both perked up in an utter panic. They threw their bodies around and over their shoulders to see Avelessi holding his neck and panting softly. "Edward, you were covering for him? This cannot be so…!"

"Now who in the shit is this little runt!? You ain't about to have no rats around here…!" The man immediately went to snatch the case from a distracted Edward but Kaito wasn't allowing this. As swift as a glaring light in the eyes of a deer, his knife was in the man's wrist from a hardy throw. "Sumbitches! Get em!" Two of the larger men pulled out shotguns and the other two grabbed some of the canisters off their backs and tossed them at Edward and Kaito's feet.

Both of them noticed the shotguns being pointed at the canisters rather than them, both only responding, "SHIT!" Taking swift dives to the ground as the canisters went off in a small explosion and soon filled the area with a thick haze of orange smoke.

"Kaito! Edward!" Gunshots to fill the area as well as a long scream from one of the men. Followed by the body being tossed outside of the cloud and tumbled over towards Avelessi. The man was still conscious and tried to grab for him but a swift, direct kick to his head knocking him out. "I'm coming guys! I'm at an advantage here. I can hold my breath a lot longer than them because of my Hamon training." A ripple echoed from his mouth and the crackle of hamon filled his body. A swift dash into the smoke made him run into the guy with the gas mask trying to reach down for the case.

"Well, well Lil' runt. Be a good kid and sit right- '' As soon as the man tried to inch closer to the case Avelessi's speed prevailed! He slid across the ground like a professional soccer player trying to score his debut moment and advanced the case in the smoke. "Damnit! Boys! Get that fuckin' case!"

Kaito had just removed his knife from the throat of the last large one with the shotgun when the cry was called out. Edward had been knocked to the ground by a stray swing and into a coughing fit.

"This isn't a normal smokescreen… It's a bleedin' drug! I can't stay focused." Edward fought to catch his stance again and advance in the smoke and throwing several loose jabs at the man who attacked him before.

Kaito and the masked man seemed to have met once again and engaged in grappling with one another. Kaito's movements also seemed to have been affected by the gas, 'This is thick enough to penetrate my mask…? What have these guys developed? No matter.' Kaito rammed his shoulder into the man's chest making him gasp for air and drilled a knife into his leg. A loud groan of pain couple is heard by Avelessi as he and Eminem dispatched the other man.

The masked man fell to the ground holding his leg, just shy of the case and tossed his body over it with what time he could. Edward slammed the last guy to the ground and pinned his arm to his back. "We need this smoke gone!"

Avelessi moved as close as he could to a center and kneeled down, finally releasing his breath, "EMINEM!" His stand flipped onto his back, hoisting itself by its arm, and spreading its legs straight as boards and spun like a powerful chopper black on the single arm. Avelessi's stand wasn't all that powerful but it was nimble and fast, the gale of its spinning knocked the smoke away enough for them to breathe clearly.

Kaito went over to grab the man by his arms and hold him from behind, giving a swift nod to Edward who sent his elbow into the back of the pinned man's head. Approaching swiftly with one of his curved knives around the man's throat, questioning time was here.

"Tell us what you know about the boss' man that sent you! We know the boss wouldn't bother with a small-time job like this." The blade pressed close as Edward openly fought for breath.

The man was now snickering before him with his mask hanging off his cheek. "Like I'd tell a couple of traitors like you," Kaito grunted angrily. "Yeah. We know ya. As soon as you two walked up. Killer Kaito and The Dungeon Master. You ain't foolin' anyone. I didn't expect you but… We have precautions for shitty deals in our division…"

Kaito sent his knee into the knife wound on the man's leg causing an extremely loud groan of pain. Edward lifted the man's head up again by his mohawk and pressed the knife further, "Last warning or we advance to torture."

The man snickered softly and slowly rose his head up by himself and revealed a vial in his mouth. Edward, still panting, barely noticed the vial from the drugs just running out of his system as the man's snickering got louder. Avelessi caught it far too late and his eyes went wide, "HIS MOUTH!"

His speech was incredibly muffled but his snicker grew as he screamed, "TOO LATE". Crushing the vial in teeth, revealing a thick powder on his tongue that he clumped together and spit into Edward's mouth as he fought to breathe. Edward choked immediately and accidentally swallowed it trying to breathe.

"Damnit!" Kaito screamed and chopped the man's neck, knocking him out and immediately rushing to Edward's aid. He was holding his throat and wheezing heavily. A strain of thick purple veins stretched across his neck as he seemed to try and rip his shirt open. "Hold still. Endure it. I'll get you some help!"

Avelessi quickly went over to try and pour some of his Hamon candy down his throat but Edward could only cough it up. "This isn't good. We need to get him back to the Speedwagon Foundation. Megumi's place is closer than Johanne's we have to go!"

"Grab the case. We need samples of whatever the hell that was." Kaito grabbed Edward over one of his shoulders and grabbed the man by his leg. They all made haste to the car that they'd stolen as fast as possible loading Edward in the front and Avelessi in the back to watch their prisoner.

After a good drive back to the shopping district it was around closing time for Megumi's shop. They drove around the back of the parlor and slammed their fists as hard as they could to get her attention.

"Whoever the hell has the nerve!" Megumi came around the back with her revolver in hand and noticed that Edward was being held over Kaito's shoulder with a thick purple discoloration around his throat and his breathing heavier. "W-what's the matter with him…? What happened!?"

"I'll let you know when I get in. Have the Speedwagon workers come here ASAP!" Kaito shoved past her into the backroom they'd used for treatment before and rested Edward against the bed. Megumi was shaking at the very sight of him. She solidified her will and rushed to the phone and pulled the book of numbers they'd given her. Avelessi rushed to aid as well trying whatever medical Hamon he could muster.

Kaito left Edward in the capable hands of Avelessi until the medics arrived. Returning to the car to see that the man with the mask was starting to come to and mocked him with a weak laugh. "It-It's only a matter of time…" Kaito yanked him from the backseat and headbutted him, breaking his nose and drug him into the building and into the meat locker.

Megumi sat beside Edward and Avelessi both with tears filling their eyes as Edward coughed loudly, his voice was frail and faint but he spoke to Avelessi, "I-It hurts… Cannot… breathe…"

"We know my friend. Please hold on. We're going to get you back together. I'm giving it my all!" Avelessi's hands were shaken and his Hamon wasn't focused but his entire being was put in. Megumi tightened her grip on his hand and pressed it to her cheek, her sorrowful tears brushing his palm. Edward mustered what strength he could to clear them.

Sometime later the medics from the Speedwagon Foundation rushed into the backdoor and guided Avelessi and Megumi aside. The procedure to set up the room and get Edward into a completely stable position was a troublesome task but after a while, they were able to get an accurate idea of the situation.

Avelessi had noticed that Kaito spent two hours in the meat locker with the man they'd taken hostage and there was barely any light in the room. "K-Kaito… The men from the Speedwagon Foundation have an idea of what's wrong… are you coming out…?" Kaito's glaring eyes peeked over his shoulder as he silently turned from a twitching, tattered body.

As he managed to enter the light, his body was coated in close to frozen blood, his eyes readjusting to it and removing the mask from his lips, "I'm listening…"

The doctor approached the two of them with a very quick paper from a blood analysis they'd done, "We at the Foundation have done our work on numerous diseases, infections, disabilities, so on, so forth. Even the supernatural is within our database. But this is something new. A self-made strand of drugs that escalates into a fast-acting 'poison' without a follow-up substance to neutralize the toxin in the drugs."

Avelessi placed his hands along the sides of his head and shook it, "S-so that means…"

"That means I know where to go. And I'm heading out now. That worthless bastard in that room spilled everything. And I know exactly where to go." Kaito grabbed one of the warm towels from the treatment and brushed the blood off himself from the room.

"L-let me come with you…! We have to stick to-" Avelessi was cut off by Kaito tossing a small bone dagger from his wrist and stopping Avelessi in his tracks with a shake of his head.

"I need to tackle this alone. Your assignment is assisting with your Hamon. I'll be back with the cure for certain." Kaito recovered his mouth and opened the door to walk out before he heard a muffled screech and stopped.

Edward was lying on the bed reaching out to Kaito in utter pain, a tear rolling down his cheek as well while he barely felt his hand moving.

"Don't you die. Your carelessness is putting a lot of people through grief. Rest assured it'll be over soon." Kaito dashed into the night without another word. The entire room was dead silent and fearful of Edward's fate.

Kaito was given the exact directions on where to go and whom he would be meeting once he arrived. It was a fated encounter he was waiting on for so very long and this was a good chance for him to right many wrongs done in the past. Kaito climbed and jumped through alleys and over rooftops with relentless speed and determination. His journey finally ended at a large gate and a very large factory at the very edge of Bodou, almost out of sight. The Bodou City Water Engineering Plant. It was a very large plot, one of the biggest in this large city that kept to itself and distributed health resources to the community. Kaito was now aware where the root of their biggest issues lied and the cure for Edward. Kaito's gauntlet, Five Finger Death Punch, formed over his forearm as he tore open the gate enough to get in. Security wasn't anywhere near as tight as it should be but he didn't care. He made his way through the smaller buildings and the equipment until the larger factory was finally in his reach. "I'm coming for you, Doctor... " He whispered with a sting listing in his tone as he clenched his fist and remotely attempted to quell his rage.


	20. Chapter 20: Muddy Waters Pt1

Having finally come face to face with one of his greatest hurdles thus far, Kaito was more than prepared. His claws gauntlet gently scraped across the large door in slow anticipation as a million thoughts ran through his head.

"I finally have my chance to take this bastard down. Every life I've taken and the life of my closest friend comes down to this. Strange to say, I have someone to call a friend at the end of the day…Wait for me, Edward." Kaito stopped the track of his fingers to the center of the door and dug his gauntlet into it, tearing a perfect hole in the metal door for him to slip through.

Kaito's training from many previous engagements of the same scenarios, breaking, and entering, prepared him for potential discovery. Making a couple very small but sharp kunai out of the white sludge leaking from his gauntlet and peaking in. Expert reaction skills granted him enough time to disarm two cameras around the entrance but moved quickly incase they were watched too carefully.

The crash of the machinery and the tacking of his feet against the tiled floor while He lurked through the shadows of the large building had attracted attention. Two guards rushed around a corner with flashlights blaring, "Who goes there!?" The first guard called out.

"Come on out and we won't need to call the- What the hell!?" The second one noticed the large rip in the door and was about to reach for the walkie talkie to radio in the break-in but felt a large thud hit his head and his body tossed into his partner.

The first guard groaned and stumbled over trying to regain his composure of the situation only to see Kaito walking over flaring his fingers slowly into a fist with his gauntlet over it and punching his lights out cold.

"Such pests… But at least you'll be useful for something." He reached down slipping the gauntlet over the second guard's neck, into his spine and sunk the gauntlet in draining the calcium and marrow from him while he searched the other, grabbing a set of handcuffs, the flashlight, and keycards from the both of them.

Kaito followed through the shadows once again, cutting corner after corner until He'd reached the door that the keycards led to. "The security room. I can get a full survey of the building." Approaching the door and slotting in the key, the door clicked open and revealed a large dark room full of monitors. There were no other guards in the room but several consoles for communication and the main computer.

Using the other key to unlock access to the computer, Kaito punched in the keys and changed around the cameras several times trying to look for a very specific room. After flicking for around five minutes or so, the interchange of the screens stopped, "That can't be all the angles they have of this place. I need the office…"

Kaito persisted in trying to flip the channels but they were truly stuck this time. "Hmm? Did it break?" He hammered the key several more times until a voice rang from a speaker near one of the screens.

"If you keep that up you'll break the damn thing! Kids nowadays know nothing of value!" Kaito's switch flipped instant, his body was in full reflex and darted his eyes around while facing the speaker. "Now now. No need to be so… jumpy. Haha. I can see you've been busy already. These guards can be so useless sometimes... "

"Come out already. You know why I'm here…" Kaito responded accordingly as he hid in a darkened corner beside the door with his ear pressed to the wall.

"Why of course I do. But this talk is much better-done face to face. Don't you think so? Haha." All of the screens turned to a single picture with a large caged up tank of water that seemed to have steam rising from it, the edge of the screen had a room number on it.

Kaito soon turned his head to a loud beeping sign over one of the consoles and the voice speaking to him rather childishly, "Better hurry… I'm sure you're on borrowed time." Kaito kicked the door open to see multiple guards already armed to fight him.

"Stop right there and we won't have to shoot," one of them remarked before a glare pierced through the faintly lit hallways and discouraged them.

"But I do." With three quick flicks on his finger, three bolts of blue energy pierced their skulls, causing their bodies to lifelessly and effortlessly drop to the ground, as Kaito dashed past them with his goal in mind while his eyes scanned the walls for direction.

"Closer and closer Kaito. You're almost here. Hurry, hurry. The clock is ticking." An intercom echoed through the seemingly endless halls that rang in his mind like a thousand bells. Another turn of a corner and through the double doors, He finally arrived at the large tank emitting the steam. Very cautiously, Kaito tiptoed into the room with his eyes darting back and forth. Finally reaching the centermost light illuminating the room, many more turned on as soon a set of footsteps were heard on the second level of the room. The sound of shoes flicking at metal could be heard as the man that had taunted Kaito all this time was here as bold as ever.

"Funny this plan goes off the way it did. Really. I wasn't going to spring this off for some time you know. But I knew someone was poking and picking at my experiments and I just couldn't let that be. Now could I? I was always rather selfish with my experiments… my test subjects. I never liked to give them too much room to run. They always tried but never got far. Like Lieutenant Dan they flailed and screamed for death but I wouldn't give them the satisfaction until I knew they had reached their potential!" The figure finally came to the light to reveal it was a somewhat hunched over older man covered in scars with a large shimmering set of glasses and his brown hair slicked back over his ears, receding to the back. He had black rain boots with solid black slacks tucked into them and a very long pearly white lab coat to tie everything together.

"Suddenly we're brave enough to step out of the lab and confront your problems? I saw what you call 'potential'. Those who were marked, 'failures' or 'trial and error'. I used to agree with those twisted ideals. But I've no more need for them. I have no more need for this organization either… Starting with you. I'll purge your sins in blood." Kaito spoke in brandished bravado as the knife in his hand was coated by more of his white sludge and protruded into a spear while he uncovered his mouth.

"You truly believe that I've challenged you, of all people, without a plan Kaito? But please! Come to me, my boy! I'll take you to the boss myself." He fixed his glasses and stood in plain sight of Kaito who was viciously grinding his teeth in anger.

"You'll give me the cure to that damn drug. DOCTOR MASUDA!" Kaito ran up one of the pillars leading to the next floor and popped to the edge of the water tankard then launched himself towards the Doctor until a large jet of water shot up and engulfed Kaito in so much pressure that it launched him to the ceiling.

After the jet subsided, the Doctor laughed profusely and took a slow stride away from the tank while watching Kaito drift from being crushed into the ceiling and falling. Using what time he could, he caught one of the guard rails on the second floor and swung himself back on panting. "Surprised are we? You thought it was that easy! Still immature! Age trumps your malice!"

"W-what the hell was that? It came so fast… And it came from there?" Kaito mumbled as he collected himself, his eyes darted from Masuda to the large Water Tank and saw that the water had me twirling and tossing in a very odd pattern.

"Where else my boy? You're in my hell now. You knew exactly where to come to find me. You know I ran the lay lines of the drug trade from the Water Processing Plant and didn't think I'd have something to cover my own ass!" The Doctor's laughter finally subsided and his hand that seemed to rest at his side slowly crept its way over his mouth and revealed a black and cobalt rebreather that changed his tone drastically.

"You… That can't be." The doctor didn't bother with his question and simply walked back around the edge of the platform with a smug glare. "Get back here!" Kaito avoided the tank this time and hopped on the railing, running across it, charging with his spear. As Kaito went in for the swipe, his arm was halted by a large impact and a splash. His eyes quickly averting to see that the water had formed a sphere very quickly and slowed down his swing.

"Stay frosty kid!" The Doctor delivered a swift kick to Kaito's chin making him fall off the railing and let go of the handle of his spear. "Oh goodness! You've gone and left your toy." The Doctor pulled the sphere from the protruding mass and examined it. "You know Kaito. I was afraid at first. After sooooo many failures. I wasn't too sure whether or not I could successfully acquire that power. I wasn't sure if I was ready to do to try but you cannot be GREAT in this world without throwing yourself to the wolves. And I did!"

As he turned away from the railing he felt a set of boots collide against the center of his face and send him over the rail and into the tank of water. Kaito brushed the wet hair from his face, panting. "You know that monologuing is going to be your downfall. Gave me enough time to swing around the edge. So that's your secret. Your big project. All those dead bodies so you could work up your own pathetic confidence to get a Stand…"

Approaching the railing, the laughter once again echoed in the room and made Kaito reach for the spear that laid against the railing until it seemed to crumble the second it was picked up.

"You are correct! I was a coward, a fool even! A man who is as intelligent as I shouldn't have worried about such a trivial matter! It was the strong ones that lived. Those that strived for something to live! If there's something a scientist always has is a strong will for possibility and the bottomless animosity to try it all!"

As Masuda's speech suddenly ended an even larger geyser of water burst forth from the tank and there he was once again standing a lot of the water as if he was on the very air itself. His hands that were pressed to his back slowly rose forward and grasped into fists soon after. Kaito's eyes darted around preparing for an attack. The rushing of water was his target as he felt some vibrations travel the metal of the platform.

Kaito flipped backward as to waves of crashing water traveled through the grates in the platforming and collided with one another but he was able to stick his landing between a series of pipers but the water cluster hid the doctor.

"As agile as ever I'd say. But this old dog still has plenty of tricks." The pipes next to Kaito began to rumble and burst into a large rush of water, stumbling him. He caught his footing once again and flicked his open wrist with his gauntlet over it and make a spine shaped whip and hooked onto a higher pipe swinging to it as another rush of water came toward him.

Kaito landed on a higher platform, his boots being wet made it increasingly difficult to keep his landing with a heavy groan. "Is this ability just water control? It can't be that simple…He's so accurate."

The water began climbing up the pipes once again as the rattling got louder and louder, Kaito flipped onto an opposing pipe to get a better angle and wrapped his whip around upper piper and flung himself around the imminent torrent of rushing liquid.

Just barely getting his arm caught by the water, it seemed to rip part of his sleeve off but effortlessly made the evasion and swung himself even harder past the attack, out of the doctor's vision and used the momentum to launch himself back to the Doctor's water platform.

"Run, run as much as you can! No keeping this doctor away- What the-!?" As his mocking IMMEDIATELY turned full circle on himself, Kaito was rushing him full tilt from his swing with his gauntlet clenched tightly into a fist.

"Predators don't run from their prey!" Finally making enough distance and out speeding the immediate reaction of the doctor, Kaito's fist collided with the Doctor's rebreather and sent him flying off his platform while Kaito stuck his landing on the edge of the tank and watched as the Doctor tumbled into the darkness.

"Have you had enough!? Cut the shit and give me the stabilizer to this damn drug!" Kaito hopped off the edge of the tank to approach Masuda only for his arm to be wrapped in a bubble of water, "W-what the hell!? I'm sure I smashed that thing with Five Finger Death Punch..! He shouldn't have recovered that fast…!"

Once again the sinister laughter emerged from the shadows, Kaito's glare was locked on it indefinitely for his conclusion of the situation.

"I'm not one of the Boss' top men for nothing Kaito! Youngsters like you are too fast and loose. You don't think too far ahead. You've killed so much you're so sure of your strength. But you haven't gotten a real taste of reality!" Emerging from the shadow was the doctor with some cracks in his rebreather but it had changed, now it was a full-on helmet with a sort of scuba diver design to it but had a small crown on the head and frills around the cheeks.

"Did his Stand expand…? Does that mean- GAAAAAHHH!" Kaito dropped his spear in sheer pain as he felt a stream of water from behind him pierce his arm and cause the skin on the surface of his arm to rustle and shift until he ripped his arm away and his arm poured blood.

"Feeling the symptoms of your own ignorance!? I'm teaching you a lesson here Kaito! The same lesson we were forced to teach your father!" The Doctor walked closer as Kaito was watching his wound but his gaze slowly crept back to the Doctor at the comment.

"Don't you speak of him… Don't you dare mock him like you knew the sort of man he was when he was alive. I'll kill you. I'll make sure your corpse rot in this building when I tear it to the ground." A malicious hiss poured from Kaito's throat as he was advanced on and his attention leaving the very existence of his wound.

"And what if I do? You'll try and finish me? Your father was too soft for our line of work and that made him so much easier to tear down. You'll fall just the same." The Doctor commented as he brushed some off the dust from his lab coat.

"DIE YOU FILTH!" Kaito raised his gauntlet once again and rushed the Doctor with a powerful straight punch but it was blocked by a swift moment from the Doctor but to Kaito's surprise, his arm was coated in deep cobalt colored armor.

"Fool me twice, right?" Masuda cocked his arm back and sent a strong punch back to Kaito's face making him stumble backward and groan in pain. Kaito's vision corrected itself as he saw Masuda approaching him after stopping one of his punches to see that his entire body was being engulfed a black and cobalt diver suit with patches of armor. "Do you see it now? The marvels of scientific prosperity! My Stand Muddy Waters!"

Kaito managed to finally grasp why his blows weren't connecting to effectiveness and got into another position of attack while inching his foot over to kick his spear to his hand.

"Not so fast!" The water beneath the spear wrapped around it and snapped it in half. Right after, Masuda placed his hand against the tank of water and caused it to rumble. Kaito wasn't a fool and used what time he had to escape with a jump up to try and whip onto the second floor again but his leg was caught by a stream of water and Kaito was spun around the water several times until he was launched through a pipe that filled the room with steam.

"Enjoy your ride Kaito? That one was on the house. Or should I say on your back?" He slapped his knee in laughter to get it out of his system. Masuda slowly approached the steam while he'd decided to mock Kaito, "Alright. Last chance to die with dignity. Unlike someone else we know- Huh kid? What…?"

Masuda took a step back and felt a rush of blood fall down his shoulder as he turned to see it, somewhat twitching in rage and surprise. Kaito panted heavily behind the cloud of steam with a bright glow from the tip of his gauntlet's finger. "I'm not done yet. You're being naive. Underestimating a cornered beast will result in your hand getting bitten."

"Grrrr! It seems like you've still got some fight in you. I expecting nothing less from a man with your reputation. But you still need to worry about the true power behind my Stand!" Masuda rose his arms up with a groan as several large globs of water rushed across the air to pursue Kaito once again.

Using his entire being to brush off the stagger and run into the large section of pipers once again, the water globs were bigger and slower than the previous attacks but hit like a truck with each impact against the large pipes. Kaito ducked and rolled to the best of his ability. Holding his ribs with his damaged arm and watching the angle the Doctor was composing from.

Taking the change that one of the globs seemed to have disappeared into the steam, Kaito hit the ground on his side and held his gauntlet out like he was pointing a finger gun and shot Masuda once again, this time grazing his leg.

Masuda stumbled over and commanded several more globs to rush Kaito as he began to parkour his way through the bars and pipes using the steam as his cloak in the night. "Run little rat! Run and run and run!"

Kaito didn't say a word in retort. This was his natural state, in the hunt and wearing his target down little by little with whatever resource he could muster. Each dip and dive was calculated in Kaito's mind and his attacks were precise. The beams tapped Masuda in the edges of his body to weaken his foundation for the kill.

Masuda's body was leaking blood and soon twitching more in anger as he couldn't calculate Kaito's guerilla tactics. "ENOUGH OF THIS GAME! I SAY WE TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL!"

A large dome of water formed around Masuda and his once again started to lift off the ground but the shifting patterns of the water seemed much more unpredictable and the larger masses of water had stopped chasing Kaito.

Noticing this change in attack pattern, He'd naturally had to test the waters on this change and plan accordingly. Pointing his finger once again and charging his beam to fire at the Doctor. The laser curved around it to hit him in the spine but once it hit the dome of water it seemed to fizzle into the torrent.

"Ah! You've given my children a good taste of you Kaito. Analyzing further data gathered past the flesh sample. Complete. Breaking down the compounds of the energy and tracing source. Complete. Setting new specimens to attack. Engage!" From the water dome, three jets of water burst from the sides as Kaito dodge two of them barely but the first hit his wrist making a hole in it.

'What is this Stand!? What were those words he was mumbling? I don't understand any of this.' So far two spits in that arm suffered attacks but this didn't phase Kaito. He was used to damage. Standing up once again, Kaito felt the edge of his lip bleeding as his mask was knocked off, "You've got a solid defense but I can put out a lot more power."

Kaito took a kneel and clenched his fist, pressing onto his damaged muscles and launching himself toward the dome that the Doctor had concealed himself in as his entire fist was now shining a bright blue. "Way of the Fist!" As soon as he sent his arm forward Kaito's eyes perked in utter shock as the blast didn't go off.

Instead of a loud explosion erupting against the dome, Kaito's wrist had bulged open and spout blood, breaking his focus and break apart the energy then suddenly get smacked to the ground by another lash of water until he tumbled onto his knees and hold the arm in pain. Kaito watched as something seemed to rumble underneath his skin again as more cuts sprout across his arm.

"Now you are about to discover the true identity of Muddy Waters. Did you know that around 10s of thousands of Microorganisms can live in pond water? That's with the intrusion of nature of course. But we don't want to nitpick at variables. Just the thought is somewhat shivering to most. But not to us men of science. It's an opportunity to study up on life. But now, I get to create life. With my very own plans for them. Your arm for instance. You were injected three times with highly experimental microorganisms that are attacking your arm." Masuda had removed his rebreather and spoke in such a direct yet sickeningly twisted tone almost as if it gave him some physical thrill!

Kaito shuttered at the jerking and throbbing of his arm. His mind was very slowly putting the pieces together through the pain as his neck creaked over, "S-so you're telling me… You can inject them into me so easily…? Is that what you did… to Edward…?"

"Now you've got your wheels turning old boy! I can use the data that I've collected in my head and have them feed off that knowledge and multiple! Those drugs I set this trap with were filled with my microorganisms that are attacking away at the inside of your friend's body as we speak. Soon you'll join him! That particular strand within your arm is feeding off the source of that blast and soon will hunger for more and consume your body!"

Kaito took the words in with a panting hesitation and took a moment to collect himself. "So you think you've back me into a corner… Huh? You even turn your back to a predator…" His head lifting with several strands of hair coating his rage-filled eyes. "Do. Not. Underestimate. THE ITSUKI NAME!"

Masuda was prepared to make an exit and let Kaito drift into an excruciatingly painful death. There was an abrupt silence after Kaito's speech and right after that, a very muffled, angry scream could be heard coming his opponent. Turning around enough to examine the noise, Masuda's eyes lit up in disbelief. "You're a madman…"

Kaito was standing there with his scarf balled into his mouth to bite into, his left arm shaking like a child caught in a blizzard while holding a very specifically made serrated hook utterly soaked in blood along with his hand. All while on the other side of his body was a bloody, pouring stump where his arm used to be while the other was devoured on the ground.

"I walked into the world of crime, prepared to die. I took many lives, prepared to die. I become a tool for the boss, prepared to die." His gauntlet had formed a very bright glow on his left arm, spreading out his fingers and placing them against his chest in specific places. "I befriended Edward, prepared to die for him. I betrayed the organization, prepared to die for justice."

Masuda seemed to break into a nervous cold sweat, barely able to speak as he watched the glowing fingers of Five Finger Death Punch sink into Kaito's chest, "W-what the… What are you planning to do boy…?"

Kaito's head was still covered in the thin strands of his hair as his body was slouched over and shivering heavily. The bleeding in his stump stopped for a moment, only for a few large spurts to come out and large sums of his usual white sludge fell to the ground, coated in the glowing aura.

"I made my friends, prepared to die to make our dream a reality! AND I'LL DO ANYTHING TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN!" His body seemed to be engulfed in the bright blue glow for some time until it traveled to Kaito's face. The extremely large sum of white sludge on the ground slowly separated into three large clusters and levitate. Soon after they all seemed to be forming differing shapes. Kaito took off his scarf and slammed his foot on one of the long ends while he bit into the other and wrapped his stump the best he could to slow the bleeding. One the knot was done, Kaito's hair brushed away to reveal that his left iris was pouring that aura, almost as if a ghastly flame in the night.

The three clumps finally formed into three separate masses with the same ghastly trail coming from the back of them. They were all very large, around the size of jet skis, Oni Masks that were in the shapes of different wolves with the same glowing eye as Kaito. Kaito spun a spear in hand as he climbed atop of one of the masks and pointed the spear at Masuda with his piercing aura filled eye, "This is my last and final trump card. D.B.D - Death Before Dishonor… Hell awaits you, Masuda. And I Judge and Executioner..."


	21. Chapter 21: Muddy Waters Pt 2

Continuing where we left off with our daring rescuer Kaito proudly perched atop his Stand's final form, his last resort. Kaito stared at his very object of hatred down in nothing but cold glares. The doctor himself, Masuda, needless to say, was speechless for some time. The silence eventually broke.

"It seems you had even more buried potential that even I wasn't aware of. I'm truly impressed at the lengths you're willing to go to in order to win this battle. I'm sure you were saving this token for the boss. But that isn't going to be the case." Masuda adjusted his cracked rebreather on his face and met Kaito's shimmering glare.

"I have no intention of losing to you. You're a parasite that I must rid of Johanne and I's dream. I refuse to let you leave this building alive." Kaito raised his gauntlet that had three of his fingers glowing brighter than the others. Masuda readied himself for whatever action that Kaito was planning to do, his glimmering blue eye pierced his very nerve and made him second guess.

After sitting there for some time as if two men waiting for the clock to hit noon. Kaito's middle finger started twitching, "Advance…" One of the floating masks seemed to burst out the same blue energy and move forward, it's mouth rattling open and showing that it was rushing forward to slam its jaws on Masuda.

Masuda weaved his arms around to match the maw of the mask with a large cluster of water that held the mask in place as it tried to force past the water. "Impressive! This has about the bite force of an Alligator. That'll surely snap me in half. Was that your intention?"

"You'll have to see for yourself." Kaito chilled with his retort, the next fighting bending some and commanding the second mask beside him to fly forward and open its jaws much wider than the other, almost cryptically creaking and bone rattles filled the room. Another ball of energy resided within its mouth, right after a good long howl that matched the pitch of spine chilling bone rattles contorting beams sprawled out very fast and started to make their ways to each side of Kaito.

"Uh oh!" The doctor managed to just barely release the cluster of water he was using to maneuver and drop down into the tank of water below just before getting grazed on the arm by the stray beams. Masuda wrestled the current while holding the burn against his arm.

Kaito retreated his masks to his side and stared down into the water, awaiting another comment or attack to come. His masks discharge soft hums of the energies that came off as rough feral growls.

The Doctor spent no time at all trying to regain his advantage on this battle of convictions as the tank below them erupted making three large geysers of water spurt from below and coil around Kaito. His masks protect himself by forming around his frame like a shell. There was steam emitting from the water, it was much hotter than before. " He can even develop microorganisms to alter the temperature of water at an accelerated rate. Formidable as it is simple." Kaito raised his gauntlet once more and commanded his masks to move and piercing through the geysers.

Making haste to get out of the way of Masuda's boon. He couldn't find him once he released the mask coating. He didn't hear any footsteps hit the floor over the rushing waters. His eyes once again actively searching the room.

"I think you're looking in the wrong places." Kaito's heart dropped within a second as one of the masks shrieked and cracked followed by Kaito being launched off the one he was standing on by The Doctor landing a devastating dropkick.

His body tumbled to the ground and bounced off a pillar. He curled for a second and groaned under his breath as he landed on his freshly cut arm wound, increasing the bleeding from it. Panting heavily from the sudden shock, Kaito tightened the scarf around his wound and commanded his masks to come to his aid immediately.

Before he could entirely solidify his defenses. He felt the liquids below him slowly coil and rise beneath his feet. Kaito clung to the mask he'd been riding on and elevated himself quickly while the other two took drastic hits from the impact of two large lashers made of water and let out more shrieks and larger cracks formed.

"Kaito! Science has no limits! It can even overcome someone as powerful as you are. I've realized a head-on approach won't win. I know you excel more than I physically but I will win tactically. I've already had my little ones partake in a taste of you and your bones. They've already started eating your trump card little by little. It's only a matter of time before they are broken down." The Doctor mocked Kaito, his resolve and his Stand in which he was so proud of.

Kaito reared back and got his distance so he could clearly see Masuda in what light the facility had left after their battle. He turned and placed his hand against one of the masks, groaning as he repaired it the best he could. 'This isn't going to do. I used so much and took a lot of damage using this ability. All while his reserves seem endless, quite an annoyance. I have to end him before I run out. One swift blow. Like always.'

"I know neither of us has contacted the Boss yet. You don't have to die here. I'm a scientist, not a murderer. Let's call it here before things get uglier." Masuda once again stood his ground over the levitating water and held his hand out to Kaito.

Kaito clenched his fist in utter rage at Masuda barking for his innocence and trying to pity him, the embers that burned over his eye raged on, "I'm the furthest from a Saint. I deserved death a long time ago. If I can accept my sin then you can't walk around like the boss' shameless pet!"

"Hah! Don't say I didn't give you a chance to go back." Masuda rose both of his arms and weaved another torrent around both of them.

Kaito watched the shift in the torrent and approached it trying to push through with his spear and felt some of his skin being shaved off by very small bites, like tiny piranha.

Patiently thinking while he could, the maw of the torrent rushed out at Kaito who would flip himself around his skull mask platform and avoid the impact while taking a dive to the ground and launching his spear at Masuda.

Using the water underneath him to grasp the spear, Masuda scanned around to counter the next attack but was unaware that Kaito used the dive to ride the other mask and have its jaws spread out in a hiss of energy and send a volley of rays like the ones from Kaito's gauntlet.

In a rushed stupor of movements, Masuda traversed the water to avoid the beams but they were so thin and swift he was chipped but not fatally.

Both of them climbed through the air avoiding attacks and trading the occasional attack. Kaito just barely doing enough to pierce the Stand Armor and noticing the stamina difference.

Kaito retreated behind one of the pillars and watched as blood-drenched his body. His hand resting over his chest and his eyes shutting just for a moment.

Just when he thought he could catch his breath his mask shrieked again and the pillar around him started to crumble. He attempted an escape but he was already ensnared by the legs against the pillar.

A coil of water smashed through the pillar and slammed Kaito into the wall making a good portion of his blood paint the wall as he threw it up.

Masuda didn't say anything but held onto his wounds as well. There was a large cloud of dust and water raining down at the impact zone. Silence once again filling the room.

The seconds felt like an eternity and there wasn't any emergence of another attack, Masuda turned away "Hmph. Legends do die it seems."

There was a scream that wasn't familiar, it wasn't Kaito's that came from the cloud. A stray beam that was stronger than the others pierced The Doctor's shoulder, making him scream in pain.

"Huh. I suppose I lost a lot of blood. I suspected my aim to be off slightly. The next one won't miss your head." Kaito finally appeared from the smoke holding a guard that was hiding in the shadows of the battle. He had his gun prepared to finish Kaito but couldn't act fast enough and was drained by Five Finger Death Punch.

"You young ones sure have a lot of fight in you. It's bothersome for men of my age to deal with." Masuda dropped his arm from the wound and groaned heavily, rolling his shoulder then rose the arm to command his attack.

Kaito tossed the limp body aside and was scooped up by another mask. Another set of large lashers approached them but the jaws of the mask snapped onto the lashers and dispersed them.

Masuda crossed his arms to send two more at Kaito from both sides of him to knock him off his platform. The freshly energized masks blocked them but took considerable damage. Kaito launched himself forward with his fist raised. The Doctor followed suit quickly after and the two of them managed to land powerful blocks to each other's faces and knocked the other to the floor.

Both of them took their time returning to their feet, fighting their stamina limits to the fullest. They eyed each other through the burning flame and the cracked visor. They ran to one another without a word. Kaito dodged the initial punch the Doctor sent him and countered with a headbutt to the throat and kick to the ribs.

Masuda reared some but didn't let up using Kaito's missing appendage to his advantage and smacked it, making Kaito wail in pain then shoulder tackled him onto his back.

He tumbled back once again, struggling to catch his footing with all the water coating the floor. Kaito did the best he could to keep himself composed but the blood loss was finally hitting at its fullest. He was getting dizzy and wobbly.

Masuda took his chance to strike, noticing how off Kaito was, "Now if I were back in my prime like you are. This would have been over. But I'll respect you as an opponent."

Once again raising himself on a water cluster, Masuda moved his arms to rattle a large water piper that prepared a large inflow of water.

Kaito knew to take this head-on would mean certain death. He snapped his fingers three times and formed a triangular formation with his masks in front of him. They all opened their jaws and charged whatever energy there had left in their forms.

"Stay the hell down Kaito!" Masuda commanded as a powerful torrent of water burst from the pipe. Kaito clenched his gauntlet launching a large ball of the collective energy from the masks. Their burning eyes faded into the darkness with the collision of the blasts.

Masuda being closer took a very large chunk of the shock wave and his scream confirmed Kaito's gamble on his trump card. He felt himself being washed away by the large sum of water on the floor so he couldn't celebrate for long.

The room once again grew silent for just a few moments, there was now a large hole in the wall and large portions of the room crumbling and smashing.

Kaito laid across the ground in shock. He'd passed out for just a moment from the impact and pain that surged through his body but rose to his knees to look around. "N-need to hurry… I'm running out of time." Gazing upon the shattered remains of his masks, Kaito managed to stumble toward the center of the room and reach toward the center of the room to grab one of his broken masks. He managed to sap some of the marrow and form a bone knife.

Just when he'd begun to walk away holding his size, there was a light snickering heard off in the room that made Kaito shift his head quickly. But it was too late.

"You thought it was over! " A rough cough followed by more laughter. Kaito found himself surrounded in a torrent of water once again. As fast as he tried he was swept into the current. Soon the water collective rose into the air with Kaito in the center of it all.

"I gave you your chance and you seat my hand and spit in my face. You kids nowadays are spoiled and ungrateful! This should teach you. I won't even have you eaten. You'll drown. You'll die slow. A fitting end to a worthless traitor." Masuda mocked Kaito. He was struggling as much as he could in the large sphere of water for air, to catch his composure.

Fight or flight was kicking in for Kaito, he found he wasn't completely bound and could move. He hadn't given up hope. He couldn't retort to the Doctor's message but he knew it was an ample moment to fight for his life. Kaito moved to the edge of the bubble, the side furthest from Masuda and tried to press through but couldn't quite break the surface. Kaito stared back at Masuda in utter disgust.

"Why so angry now? You didn't want to lose. But who does!? Life's a rat race and you lagged a little too far behind. Let this be a lesson to you and your father in the afterlife. Don't mess with the bigger rat…" Masuda moved his hand to try and enclose the bubble more while looking down on Kaito.

This was his chase, his final gambit. Kaito's eye reignited one last time as his inner survival instinct shined. He raised his gauntlet and bent one of the fingers. As confused as Masuda was, he didn't know what to say. All of a sudden, a loud crack against his visor from an extremely hard impact, "W-what the hell was that!? I can't see it! I can't see a damn thing!"

Kaito had used this opportunity of confusion to check the stability of the surface of the water, he shoved himself through and dove out of the water coughing it out, "A-a trap…! Five Finger Death Punch is a truly incredible Stand…" Kaito's eyes diverted over to the body of the guard he'd drained some time ago who drew his gun. "If he didn't come along I don't think I would have made this escape. I'm able to manipulate the skeletons of the dead. I was able to make him fire one last round with what energy I had. It's much easier on small targets. I just needed some time and a proper moment. You hand-delivered them both to me. MASUDA!"

The Doctor thrashed his arms around, trying to pick at the glass of the visor without it getting onto his eyes, "Damnit! You've got another thing come youngin' if you believe that'll let you get away!" The command of his Stand became reckless and unorganized as it had been before, He was in a state of pure panic.

"Escape? I told you. The Predator does not run from its prey." Kaito took the knife he'd brandished from his discarded mask and placed it between his teeth. His remaining arm behind his back, eyes forward and taking deep, stalled breaths. 'I have one shot at this….'

Large water lashers were surrounding Masuda as he was trying to fearfully defend himself. He couldn't see from the shattered visor nor see where to go. He knew releasing his Stand would leave him utterly defenseless as well. It was the perfect checkmate.

Clenching his gauntlet tight, Kaito poured energy into it causing the glow to restore once again. After a few moments, his target was set and the gauntlet open, He muffled loudly through the knife's grip in his mouth, "BURST!" Launching himself into the air toward Masuda. The first lasher wildly approached him, Kaito shifted his coarse mid-air and launched another burst to dive past the swing. Another two came, despite the painstaking strain of pushing himself and draining his own body, three more bursts emerged from the gauntlet to sweep past them!

Kaito's plan was coming together, closer and closer in the air as sparks of light closed the distance between Kaito and Masuda. The Doctor didn't know what to do or say, He was speechless, but he recognized the sounds, "STAY THE HELL BACK!"

"Kaito screamed bloody murder as his eye burned the bright blue, a few more bursts closers the distance just enough for Kaito to drive his body into Masuda with incredible force! The knife in Kaito's teeth drove deep into Masuda's chest, tearing past his Stand suit and fatally injuring him. He let out a scream at the top of his lungs, followed by filling his visor with projectile vomited blood.

Kaito's body slumped over Masuda's as the lashers fell into their formless shape of plain water and the two of them made a slow descent into the ground. Masuda fell first and Kaito bounced off of him, rolling to the floor.

The two of them were silent aside from their labored breathing. Masuda tiredly broke the silence holding his wound, "You know… Deep down. I hoped this came about. This conclusion. So I could finally escape this cage of knowledge, this insufferable plain of existence. I know you're still alive."

Almost on queue, Kaito's head rolled over his shoulder, weakly as his loud, once neatly put together hair was all over the place but his gaze was true. He had prevailed. Kaito's very being was shaken, devastated even. Even breathing hurt him. He pressed on by crawling over to one of his stray spears that were disposed of during the battle. He shook excessively like a lost puppy in a storm, his body was trembling and torn but he pressed on looking down at Masuda.

The Doctor met eyes with Kaito, for a few moments there was nothing but silence between the two until the brittle arm of the Doctor reached into his coat and pulled out a lighter, a pack of cigarettes, and a card. "I have a prize for you Kaito. A gift to the future you've decided to pursue. If you'll allow me to speak…" He coughed blood between his words as he shakily lit the cigarette, looking down to clear his throat and took a drag.

"I had a deep respect for your father. So much so that it was close to envy. He wasn't scared to use his knowledge for the people over profit. He was on the track to keeping this community great. He was wealthy but he lived the poor man's drag. He was smart enough to die with dignity and his soul intact. A good man. But I was a coward that betrayed him when I was brought here All because I couldn't follow his ideals." Masuda knocked off some ashes from his cigarette and rose his other hand, giving Kaito the card with some of his blood on it.

"Use that. If you hurry a couple of floors up. You'll claim your prize, fair and square. The stabilizer for the drug and something else. There isn't much time left… for your body or this place." Kaito retrieved the card and used every ounce of his strength to shuffle towards a nearby door, leading to a staircase. He knew exactly what the Doctor meant.

Kaito limped up every stair with all he had. Blood was dripping excessively the further he got. After reaching the second floor, He tripped over and fell to the stairs as the entire building shook from a large shockwave, "So it's begun… Wired to shut down when he died. Impressive to the bitter end."

This setback didn't halt his advance, not after everything he'd been through. Kaito rushed up the stairs, almost ignoring his pain entirely for the sake of his mission, his dream. Finally reaching a series of doors past a locked door with a key card slot after passing multiple normal doors. He inserted the card and entered the room. There was a large window, many whiteboards, and papers across the room. Several test tubes and a large desk with notebooks. "This is the place…"

Kaito coughed a pool of blood onto one of the chairs and stumbled over it as the building crumbled and shook again. He moved toward a bookshelf and tossed as many as he could out of the way, the room shaking around him in his search. Kaito broke down every book or poster, pushed over whiteboards in a haste, his blood trailing the room.

Meanwhile during Kaito's search; on the outside of the plant…

A large group of workers and guards in the building, after triggering a fire alarm, fled the scene of the Water Processing Plant as multiple explosions and boilers in the building erupted. Fires were coming out of the lower portion of the building and the windows bursting out.

Multiple police sirens and fire trucks began to approach the scene to handle the destruction accordingly. Their radios booming with calls for assistance from paramedics and officers.

Back at the ice cream parlor, Jotaro was present in a Speedwagon Foundation Medical Van with Avelessi and Edward in the back, who was still hooked up to medication to keep him functioning. Avelessi held his quivering hand as he struggled for breath. The radio crackled as the driver tuned it. 'CALLING ALL UNITS! LARGE FIRE AT THE EDGE OF BODOU! THE WATER PROCESSING PLANT SEEMS TO BE UNDER SOME ATTACK AND IN FLAMES! CALLING ALL UNITS!'

Jotaro turned his head to the radio and held his finger up, "I spoke with the man in that room who Kaito tortured. What a mess that was. That's where he sent Kaito. I'm sure this is his doing. Yare Yare Daze…"

"We have to go then! I'm sure you have the clearance to make it. He might need assistance. He went alone. Who knows how many Stand Users were there. Please Jotaro!" Avelessi nearly begged at this point, his hand clenching Edward's.

Tipping his hat forward to think to himself for just a moment, Jotaro pointed his finger forward and punched in the GPS location for the driver. Without a moment's hesitation punching the gas and sped off to the location.

Back at the office, Kaito finally knocked over the last shelf of books and cleared off the boards to no sign of anything locked. He angrily slammed his fist into the wall and groaned under his breath, "This couldn't have been for nothing…! It has to be here! He must live!"

The wall still shaking from the collapsing building and Kaito's strike moved a painting of a man with red hair with solid black skin holding a glass of wine behind the desk and uncovered a small hatch with a touchpad. Kaito shoved the painting aside to fully uncover the hatch. His hand moved slowly and steadily as his vision started to blur from blood loss.

The key card tapped the screen with the bloody size and reach, 'DNA Match'. Proceeding with a loud pop and the hatch flew open. Kaito released a sigh of relief as he opened the hatch and searched around. There were multiple papers labeled, 'TOP SECRET' or 'TEST SUBJECT RESULTS'. "So much useful information. No time though. At least they won't get it either."

Kaito pushed the stacks aside to see a pile of green vials, the only ones inside of the safe and right beside it, something that made his eyes perk open, the Stand Arrow! "This has to be it. The key to unlocking a newer future." Upon going to retrieve the items and head for the door, another large rumble occurred knocking Kaito over. He used his wounded side to cup the vials and the arrow. He could feel the heat rising from the floor and smoke surrounding the bottom of the entrance.

Letting out a deep sigh. Kaito hurried to his feet stammering like a drunk, He moved to sit his possessions on a nearby table for just a moment and grabbed a wooden chair next to him. Kaito took several deep breaths and spun his body around, releasing the chair at the large window and smashing open as he fell again.

His next move was unwrapping his wounded stump where his arm was and hiding the contents of his search inside the large folded scarf that he used to stop the bleeding. Afterward, he wrapped it around his spear he was using as a walking stick and forced himself off the ground again. "One more time. One more good time. That's all I ask of you. This sinful body of mine." Kaito took a javelin tossing position and launched his body forward, letting go of the spear and tossing it out the window and crashing against the wall below the window.

The paramedics and firemen didn't pay any mind to the events around that edge of the building as the Speedwagon Van approached in the scene within the midst of the other medical tents and got out as soon as they saw the state of the building.

Jotaro, Avelessi, and two of the Speedwagon Medics got out of the Van and stared in awe until they were approached by a couple of officers.

"Hey! You all need to get back! This isn't a place for civilians to be marching up to!" The cop said as he was shoved aside by Jotaro and Avelessi walking past him. "Hey! Don't make me arrest you! What's the matter with you!?"

"E-excuse us, sir!" One of the Speedwagon Drivers approached him with their documents and cards to be on scene to provide medical assistance and got a temporary excusal for the intrusion. "We will be gone soon. We're here to answer the call for backup. Please take us to the medical tents."

Avelessi and Jotaro stayed in the safe zone as far as they could from the building, trying to get a closer look around for Kaito until they stumbled upon the chair. "Nothing out of the ordinary yet Avelessi. Where is that sneaky bastard?" Before he could take a step forward the bone spear landed a few feet in front of Jotaro which sparked surprise in his eyes and Avelessi's.

"The design and material of that… Oh no… You don't think… Jotaro? Jotaro-san?" Avelessi tugged his sleeve while he stared at the large, blatant bloodstains that tinted the scarf around the polearm of the spear.

Jotaro approached the spear, kneeled and untied it to reveal the contents and gasped heavily, then turned to the shattered window in surprise. "You'd even go that far…"

"Jotaro-san!? Please answer me! Please!" Avelessi was now shaking and stumbling as he pulled on Jotaro's sleeve and turned his body and head around frantically, "KAITO! KAITO! WHERE ARE YOU!? KAITO! PLEASE BE OKAY! KAITO! PLEASE! OH GOD…!"

Back at the window inside of the building, Kaito was leaning against the wall right below the window and looked up at a large hole in the ceiling. His lower body was now crushed by the fallen piece and he was pinned against the wall breathing heavily.

"I've done everything I can. I don't deserve a peaceful death. I've lived my life a monster and I'll fall into a monster's fate. I just hope this last gesture does what I hope. I'm so sleepy…" Kaito's eyes were shutting slowly and his breathing was getting slower.

'Kaito… Kaito… Listen…' A very faint voice fell upon his ears and made his eyes perk slightly to a bright silhouette before him that pointed outside the window. He turned his ears as close as he could to the sounds outside of the window.

"That's my name… That's Kujoh and the boy… they came here. I can't feel anything, I can't breathe, I can't move… But this is the final gift you give to me? Father…" Kaito blinked for a moment and bit into his lip, his body was shaking again as tears soon rolled down his cheek and something no one would expect to happen, sparked in Kaito's final moments. Kaito smiled through the tears streaming down his cheeks.

Reaching out to the silhouette with his last few breaths, his smiling lips weakly spoke, "Listen to them, Papa… I know I wasn't the most outgoing kid… I didn't have friends. I finally made friends, Papa… They came to see me off. I wish you could have met them… My… Friends…." Kaito's arm dropped as his words faded into another explosion and walls collapsed in the room.

Outside of the building, the explosion could be seen again collapsing the second and third floors of the building from the size of the shockwave that just happened.

Jotaro and Avelessi gasped loudly, both speaking from a pained depth in their chest, "KAITOOOOOOOO!" Their words lost in the chaos and embers. Jotaro tucked his head away and gritted his teeth. Avelessi dropped to his knees and erupted in tears, his screams filling the air in refusal to accept this fate. After some time, Avelessi cleared his still pouring eyes and bite down into his lip, "J-Jotaro…! Look!"

Jotaro was jerked away for a moment as Avelessi pointed to the sky to see a silhouette fading into the sky that streamed from a large sparkling smoke trail piercing through the dark smoke of the fair, it was in the shape of Kaito who nodded to them with a smirk and turned into the smoke and shroud of the night. This time a tear rolled down Jotaro's cheek as Avelessi continued his wail. The Speedwagon Foundation cleared its space for grief as the officers noticed their reactions to it all.

Kaito Itsuki - has died -


	22. Chapter 22: No Time Wasted

**As much as I want to say something to excuse another LONG wait for a chapter. There really isn't one. Just another horribly chink in the writing process. I'm very sorry for the wait. I'm doing my best to shorten these but it's never easy. Sorry especially to those really wanting to power through this story. I'm going to give you guys my all to update on a better schedule. Enjoy this chapter though! More to come!**

The very next morning, once again the sun towered brightly over Bodou City, brightening the dreary streets of the lower part of the town. An occurrence on any other day that would be seen as a blessing to the folk but not this day, a grim cloud was a looming dread in the air behind the sudden warmth of the morning rays.

The blinds in Johanne's bedroom barely folded shut to keep out the beams, eventually, they managed to creep their way up enough to cross his eye, still asleep, and burn into it long enough to wake up.

A long yawn escaped Johanne's lips as he rose from his bed with a stretch but he was cut off by a soft hand swatting him in the face to interrupt him with a soft grumble.

His hair, hardly seen this way, was taken out of the ponytail and draped over his face and bare shoulders, hiding a smile as he looked over to see a barely dressed Kohana rolling over to avoid the sunlight and silencing him. A small snicker escaped his lips then a soft whisper, "Sorry."

He moved to the edge of his bed to retrieve his shorts and a brush from his dresser. Leaving his room, Johanne released another yawn and crossed his living room to see almost everyone sitting in the living room quietly talking until he passed by.

Joanne stopped in his tracks, turning a little red in the face at being caught this exposed in front of his friends, "Little early for a group meeting, Dontcha think? Hehe…"

There wasn't a single response in the room for a good while until Jotaro tipped his hat forward to cover his face and spoke, "I think you'd want to sit down. We have a very pressing matter to discuss."

Joanne approached the group with his hand behind his head and a half-grin, "Where's the fire, man? Is everything alright? I'm sure you'd rather me get dressed and-"

Edward stepped forward, a slow limp from a single crutch he used, his recovery from the drug still affecting his movement. Reaching into his jacket, He placed the arrow on the table and a very bloodied cloth beside it without a word. His lip shook and quivered as he stumbled back.

"Wait… is that what we were looking for? Where the hell did we get that?" Johanne approached the table cautiously and examined it from a distance.

"We acquired the arrow last night. Through Kaito's assistance…" The room got colder after that statement from Jotaro. Edward's head hung lower, Kiba turned away to Yume and Jesse was fuming with anger.

"Kaito? Jeez, that guy is always a mystery. Where is he? I need to thank him. He's done a lot for us. I know he doesn't seem like a party type of dude but I'm sure with some convincing-" As Johanne was about to turn and see if he was going to be snuck upon. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

Turning his body around to see Jotaro staring him down very sternly but there was a trickle of pain in him. Johanne took a minute to look back at the table at the bloodied cloth on the table, "W-wait… Isn't that…?"

Jotaro nodded slowly to Johanne while his hand was slowly retrieved. The young boy turned to the table and dropped to his knees, shaking and gasping softly, "D-damnit…"

Avelessi moved closer to place his arm over Johanne's back to comfort him, "It's alright… you can-"

Johanne let out a powerful wail and slammed both of his forearms into the floor, breaking it tears, "GOD DAMNIT!"

Everyone's eyes registered to Johanne in his turmoil state. Yume clung to Kiba's side to hide from the sight. Another set of footsteps stormed down the hall and into the living room. Everyone was rather shocked to see Kohana rushing in wearing only one of Johanne's large t-shirts and without a moment's hesitation took his side.

Kiba and Jesse glanced at one another then back to Kiba with the utmost confused expressions but didn't break the silence or their friend's grieving. The room continued this way for around 10 minutes until they all took places on the couches to calm down.

Jotaro was sitting with his leg crossed over the other and his hat tipped forward. His lips pursed shut but his posture broke to lean forward and take the initiative to break the mood in the room by grabbing the arrow and holding it up. "Listen close. Our time here is almost done before the Speedwagon Foundation and I take our leave. But I'm sure there are several uncertainties that I want to clear up. These bastards had this arrow for whoever knows how long. So we need to finish checking the city for laboratories and possible test subjects. We don't know if they have another arrow."

"Yeah well, our enemy isn't exactly worried about that. Check this out. " Kiba put his phone down on his lap and picked up the T.V. remote. A few clicks later, there was a large news crowd and an empty podium.

'Where is he!?' 'Will he not address the issue at hand!?' 'We need some sort of statement!'

Questions flew out of the televisions a mile a minute, everyone in the living was waiting with anticipation. Kohana eventually spoke up from the clung position on Johanne's arm. "What's the big deal anyway? That's almost double the crowd and news heads than when I came back to town. It's insane."

Kiba scoffed and kicked back against the couch with his hand rested against his cheek, "You'll never believe it. The big man himself is coming out of hiding. Apparently, this is going to be the Mayor's first official public appearance since winning the election without showing himself."

The entire room became engrossed and anxious. Johanne's eyes darted up to the T.V. with a rain of harsh emotion emitting from his very glare. The crowd on the television grew barely as restless as our group was before a solid white and gold limo pulled up behind the stage. The cameras flashed off the windows with haste before the door was pulled open by one of the men dressed in black.

Out of the shadows of the vehicle came a man dressed in a white and red business suit with gold and red flame patterns stitched to the bases, a large blistering red eye in the center of his back, his tie a very peculiar set of ornaments of six thin coiled chains going around the tie. Spotless, fresh dress shoes clicked across the wood of the stage as the man took off a pair of solid black sunglasses and stared out at the crowd in silence. The man's hair matched his outside, very long, straight, flowing silvery-white hair with a couple of long red highlight streaks running from base to roots. The man's appearance was nothing like anyone expected him to be, very sleek yet ready for the challenge ahead of him without a trickle of doubt in his step. He was truly a diabolic machine ready for the cruelty that is the path of a conqueror.

The man tapped the microphone and leaned into it, "My beloved citizens of Bodou City. This is your diligent mayor, Akuma Ishita. Founder of Proprietor for Akuma Domestic Trade and Pharmaceuticals. I must say it is a pleasure to come forward and see you all in person. I could not simply sit by and leave my people in the dark after this terrible chain of events lately in our great city. This may be your first time laying eyes upon me in this light but in my tower-" He turned around to point to the very large building in Upper Bodou that was his company's office and city hall. "I've watched you all suffer too long. My advisors and I are truly… broken to hear the numerous losses and struggles in civil service to keep it all together. But I will assure you. Justice has arrived in the form of myself and the work to come to Bodou. I will not stand idly by and see my work torn apart by RATS!" His fist slammed into the podium.

Back to Johanne's living room, Yume jumped back at the slam and hid her face in Kiba's jacket while tears rolled down her cheeks. Fear setting in as the memories of that voice filled her head. Kiba reached around to comfort the girl.

Akuma seemed to get rather restless after the last statement, his head dropped and his fingers that were covered in rings clenched the podium, "We all know where these incidents come from. I cannot simply abandon a citizen, nor an entire portion but we all know where to look when hoodlums arise!"

He took a long drawn out breath, his movements were swift and powerful, as if a dictator calling for the troops there wasn't an averted eye in the crowd, "We can't let this go. Someone must pay and we are spending countless seconds hunting these vermin. Just because we all can't have the finer earned things in life. It does not mean we should live in fear!"

The crowd ate his words up like candy and raved at his madman's suggestions, they were enthralled by the idea of blaming others. The entire room grew uneased. Edward, Avelessi, Kiba, and especially Johanne grew anxious as the speech went on.

Akuma cleared his throat and adjusted the sunglasses to a place around his collar. Another deep sigh escaped his lips as he brushed some of his long hair out of his eyes and stared dead into one of the cameras. " Forensics says we managed to recover one of these… terrorist's bodies in the fire. Justice was swiftly done to him karmically if you will. I know he wasn't alone. And we will take care of you. One. At. A. Time. If we have to."

An obvious targeted statement for our group was the fuel to the fire he wanted and it was well-received. Akuma continued, "Furthermore, the plant. I know many are going to be without active resources for some time and we plan to get to work immediately. As soon as the police investigation is closed, we will be stripping money from unneeded places… to fund our repairs and get us back and running like a machine. We are using our time wisely to answer all complaints -"

The broadcast was brought to a screeching halt as the TV remote crashed through the screen. Everyone turned their eyes to see an infuriated Johanne shaking in his very skin and hyperventilating, "He wants a war, right? He wants to take more from us than he already has. Fine. I guess we've been too soft."

Immediately Johanne turned away from the group and hurried to grab his jacket off the edge of the couch and rushed out the door.

"Yare, yare… This kid has a fire like no other building up. I suppose I'll step in again-" Metok had moved forward from behind the couch and held Jotaro back.

"Take another look, my friend. You may want to leave this one to the professionals." Metok held his finger out. Jotaro's eyes perked open to see that Jesse, Kiba, Yume, Avelessi, and Kohana were all gone.

"Hmm. I suppose Star Platinum couldn't even have kept up with how fast this room cleared. I'll mind my own business for now. The kid does remind me of myself, I won't lie. An insatiable determination with brewing anger over this long ordeal." Jotaro tipped his hat forward with a grin, his worries for the boy drifting. "And a damn good crew behind him."

The door once again creaked open, this time the eyes were shifted to see Edward heading out the door without a turn back, "Hey. I'll be back after a while… I could use some air as well."

Metok walked around the couch, his hands tucked into the long brown robes around his rippling chest with a gentle tap again some large beads that dangle off the cloth, "Quite a shame I would say Mr. Kujo. All of them have trouble in their hearts. This man is truly a devil in every sense of the word."

Meanwhile, our group of youngsters managed to clear a good distance away from the house. Johanne specifically was ahead of the group and making a horrible scene of himself.

"Hey bro! You gotta calm down! Hey!" Kiba held onto Yume on his back as he tried to keep up with Johanne with a light jog but couldn't catch his attention.

Johanne's gaze was forward as he approached the bridge leading into Upper Bodou, his mood far from elevation, "Din uud tydelige jaevel! Syg rive ham fra hinanden! Ill slut ham!"

Jesse managed to catch up with a soft pant escaping his lips, dragging Avelessi behind him by his pant leg, a scratch of his frilled up hair later he spoke up, "What in the everlasting hell did he just say?"

Kiba shrugged his shoulders and crossed his arms over his chest, walking backward beside the group, "Hell if I know. If he gets super pissed He starts to go off in Danish. It's fuckin' weird. Look, man. I know I'm usually the one needing you to bail me out of stupid shit but let's take a minute here."

Johanne finally came to a rest at an overpass in Upper Bodou that led away from City Hall. He held both of his hands against the rail and watched down at the cars as they all poured out into the city. "It's not fair. Kaito didn't hesitate to jump into action! He gave it all up for the mission! And we just- we just-!"

"We just what…?" Kohana could be heard in the very back of the crowd. Everyone turned around silently to see that she was bashfully toying with her hair and began to turn away. "We spent a magical night together... Something that meant a lot to both of us. I know you have so much on your mind. So much that I couldn't possibly relate to… But it isn't fair to the rest of us to want to throw it all away on a suicide mission."

Jesse stepped forward dropping Avelessi at Johanne's feet and crossed his arms, "That's right asshole. We all put everything into this dream you've put together. I know it's angering. More than anything."

Johanne's expression of anger started to fade as he looked at his loved ones, the way their leader was reacting to this heavy loss was an embarrassment to his reputation.

"Goodness. Dear friend, if you'll give me your ear for a moment. You know I know better than most. What loss can do to the heart. So. It's times like this, you need to try harder." His little blue-haired friend bumped his chest over his heart with a lollipop.

"What a joke… I'm sorry everyone. I just flew off the handle for a moment. The way he talked about everyone. The way he insulted Kaito. I almost did something really stupid there." Johanne unwrapped the lollipop that was given to him and popped it into his mouth.

"And look where that would have left your squadron. High and dry. Not much of a team player if you ask me. Took you long enough to snap back into it." Another voice chimed into their conversation, it was different, very awkward.

Johanne turned his back to a man drinking coffee. It was another one of those men dressed in the black suits that worked under Akuma. Johanne snapped immediately into action at the realization and tackled the man to the railing with M.C.R. holding him down. "Who the hell do you think you are walking up to us like that!?"

On the other side of town.

Some time had passed since the dismissal of their group meeting and the ending of Akuma's press conference. The kids had taken their own ways away from the home to deal with the upcoming issue.

Edward stumbled down the streets with his coat flowing through the wind and his crutch tapping away at the stone. His head hangs over and only sighs escaping his lips.

Almost instinctively walking for a good hour, Edward finally made his way to the old grounds that He used to work and made his way to a bench. "At least it was nice of Megumi to take care of the children while I took a day off.

The wind collected around him as he stared into the cloudy sky, his mind wandering until his eyes began to shut, "You crazy son of a bitch… What gave you the right to give your life up like that? I suppose you thought you were more than enough to handle it. Don't worry. My friend."

"Heh Don't worry about what? Seems like you have it all figured out. A fine place for a nap too." There was a young mysterious voice coming from behind the bench. Edward's entire being froze and his eyes flashed open but didn't turn. He knew exactly who it was.

"Holy cow, Eddie! Don't be so cold. You were talking jus' talkin' about friends and you leave us hanging'? That's cold." Edward almost choked on the air he tried to inhale, his entire being was in utter shock waiting for the footsteps to stop.

Upon lowering his head he saw two figures before him, both individuals that Edward didn't want to see at this exact time after losing one of their stronger allies.

The first man that spoke was a rather slender but toned out younger man with a long coat hanging off his shoulders and back, almost like a cape if you will. He sported a business casual dress shirt with half the buttons undone, covered in large Zs stitched into the shirt in a sequential pattern getting smaller as they went down and a loosened tie around his neck. He had a fairly short black and bright blue hair that was cut off at the coat he wore, topped with a very peculiarly oversized sleeping cap, very baggy pants, and floral kabuki sandals.

The second man was just as strange and off-putting. Very large and muscular in stature. He sported a very thin blood red tank top covered by a bulky leather biker and an assorted bullet belt across his chest filled with cigars, bulky green camo pants, jet black sunglasses, combat boots, and a very oddly rabid looking blonde mullet and short beard combo.

Edward finally gained his composure and turned back to them, starting with the smaller looking gentleman, "It can't be good news seeing you in person like this… Jon Bovi!"

The larger man stepped forward with an obvious cockiness in his step, it was harshly boastful because he spared no time grabbing Edward by the shirt and tugging him up, "And you forget about me again!? Here I was about to buy you a beer for old time's sake. Fuckin' punk." Proceeding to toss Edward back to the bench and taking a seat beside him.

"M-Matt Booker… Both of you. What do you want from me?" Edward's eyes darted around the area, the bench, the ground, the passing by people, anything he could find to try and get out of this dangerous situation. He was snapped back for a moment by Jon sitting on the other side of him.

With a deep sigh, Jon pushed his hair out of his eyes and rested back against the bench with a soft giggle, "You know it really has been so long. Sadly we don't have Barlem anymore. Nor the Doctor. Nor… Kaito. The Boss wasn't too happy with all the restaffing that needed to be done. So, he figured he would probably want to nip that problem in the bud. Really fast. Get me?"

"So you're aware of what's been going on. I have no shame in the decisions I've made over these last few months. If you've come for what I think you have. Do what you must." Edward responded with as much pride as he could, struggling to fold his eyes shut as hard as he could.

Matt let out a hardy laugh as he pulled one of the cigars from his chest and sparked it with a lighter he got from the jacket pocket, "That's some balls right there. Kickass and don't bother taking names. I respect that. But we got two options for you and a warning."

"What do you mean by that? This isn't the usual policy for traitors." Edward sank even further into the void of unease. He had limited options so listening was the alternative right now.

Jon chimed into the conversation in a sluggish tone. "You see man. The boss still believes in you. That you aren't beyond redemption. You've lost one of your main ties to this little… crusade. Why not come back to the winning side? It would surely be a pain in the butt to have to kill ya, Edward. I'd rather jam out to my tunes."

Edward grew enraged at the mere mention of this proposition. How easily they disposed of Kaito's relevance, "And the other option is to go down with the ship I suppose."

Matt slapped his knee and chuckled again blowing some of his cigar smoke into Edward's face. "Damn right baby! I don't want to have to go medieval on your ass. So I would make the better choice here."

Both of them rose from the park bench and turned away from Edward to walk away. Edward pushed himself to his feet with somewhat of a struggle and asked aggressively, "And the warning!?"

The two men stopped for a moment and turned their heads only slightly, but Jon spoke up, "Or we'll be taking care of you. We're here to stay for a while. And we don't play fair. I'm sure you know that. You and Kaito were the same as us at one point. Ja ne."

Edward stood in the middle of the path to the bench in disbelief, his heart almost pounding out of his chest. He took hold of the crutch that laid against the bench and shuffled off in the opposite direction of the men.

Meanwhile were we left off with the kids on the other side of town.

Johanne pinned the man to the bar harder, almost threatening to toss him over. Avelessi and Jesse stepped to his sides as well for assistance.

"What the hell are you doing here and why are you following us!? Looking for a fight!?" Johanne pressed on with his interrogation as he shook the man down, the coffee tossed over the rail.

"Ahhh shit and here I spent 7 bucks on that over at Megumi's… What a fuckin' shame." The voice from the man suddenly changed, it was a lot more familiar this time around which raised suspicion in Johanne and the boys.

"W-what? Wait, wait. Over at Megumi's place? What were you doing there!? She banned you assholes from that place. Something ain't right here. Did you do something to Senpai!?" Johanne raised an eye to the man, hoping the line of questions would brush aside this shroud of confusion

The man held his hands up quickly as if in a surrendering manner and took a breath, "Sheesh. Nice to know I taught you to be about your business." The man reached up with both hands and pulled off a black bowl cut wig to short brown hair and the sunglasses over his eyes to reveal it was Noboru, Johanne's father.

"W-what the fuck? Dad, what are you doing? Why are you dressed like that man? I almost sent you to an early grave man!?" Johanne took a deep sigh, calling off his Stand and letting his Father regain his balance.

"Mr. Kamijou Sir. What could you be doing dressed like that? Surely you are aware of our dangerous history with those men." Avelessi chimed in as well, walking up to help him fix his suit.

"Well, if you kids must know. You have to keep quiet. They could be anywhere nowadays." After taking a long breath and dressing back up, Noboru spoke "I heard about Kaito. It's terrible really… I didn't want you guys to find out this way. Or at all for that matter. But I took some part-time work with Kaito. I've been infiltrating the Boss' ranks as a grunt."

Johanne gasped quickly. Everyone else's reactions weren't any different. Johanne stepped forward and shook his head profuse, "Dad, tell me you're kidding. You can't be for real. These guys are dangerous. If you're found they'll-"

Kohana approached soon after, her arms crossed over her chest but managed to look past her falling hair with a glance filled with fear, "They won't be merciful… Betrayal is the highest form of disrespect to that Boss. I've already lost everything but my life and savings. If I didn't have the connections I did, I'm sure I'd be dead by now. Sir, you have to-"

"Ah. You must be the sweet girl that my son took out, right? Thank you for the tickets by the way. I couldn't have afforded them on my salary." Noboru placed his sunglasses back on and bunched over the railing. "I knew the risk when I signed up. I'm not worried. The streets have been tougher on this old man than these money-hungry goons could ever be."

"That's not the point. I'm not trying to risk any more people than I have to-" Johanne felt a fist collide with his fist then a pat on his head. His eyes met with his Father's who tipped down his shades and winked.

Noboru snickered and stood face to face with his head, "Let an old man do something nice for his son. It's better than sitting by and watching you come home over and over covered in blood. Your mother has been worried sick about that. The faster we get this done. The better for us all. Right?"

Johanne brushed his chest softly looking around at his crew. Kiba was at a loss for words, but surely they all felt the same about Noboru's words as reluctant as they were to involve him. "Alright, Dad. Just… don't do anything stupid."

"Stupid? I've been doing stupid things, my whole life son. This is just one more stroke of chalk. Besides, I'm sure that you wouldn't mind me helping after what I've shown you what I got." Noboru slipped a flash drive out of his pocket and waved it in front of the crowd.

Kiba tilted his head curiously for a moment and shrugged, "Look, man, I'm sure you can scam someone else with bootleg movies but not this guy."

"Gah! You damn kids nowadays never take anything seriously. Come on, we've got a lot of dodging to do if we're going to get back safely.

And so they continued off of the bridge and took some of the less populated routes in Lower Bodou to finally make their way back to Johanne's house. Everyone was gathered in the living room around Noboru at the dinner table with an open laptop.

Jotaro and Metok joined the crowd soon after looking around the house for potential followers, speaking up eventually to the situation; Jotaro himself, "I had no idea you'd come out with something so soon. Hopefully, it's the needed evidence I have to make the final search for any more labs."

"Nothing like that just yet. But you won't believe what I do have." Noboru plugged the drive into the computer, navigating through a large series of folders and entering several passwords, "I had to do a lot of favors for this. I almost got busted a few times. They've come to trust me. After doing this for around a month, I found out where they keep their bank statements, trade history, and so on. Nothing recent is kept in our location though. Only stuff a year or so down the line but it's still big and I'm sure still happening."

"What do you mean by still happening? Has he really done worse than this?" Johanne leaned into the documents that Noboru pulled up and was left in a gasp after reading the reports.

"Crazy isn't it? These are documented proof that He'd not only been refusing to put money towards the improvement of the entire city. He'd been embezzling money from his 'loyal' supporters." Noboru snickered and continued typing at the computer, showing them all the large amounts of yen from various different big businesses around Bodou and several other cities around Japan.

"These bastards have been lying to even the big wigs all this time… And these are just years back. Think about what we could do with all this information. Or better yet, something more recent. This is it. Our next move. Turn his supporters against him!" Johanne added brushing some of his hair back.

"Ho ho ho! I don't think so!" A very phantom-Esque voice came from the laptop. Noboru screamed suddenly as a large surge of blue electricity shocked him and knocked him to the floor. "Our organization had no room for traitors!"

"Dad! What the hell is going on!?" Johanne kneeled beside his father to try and tend to him while looking up at the screen. To everyone's surprise, there was a large blue, static face glitching through the files and consuming them, "An enemy stand!?"

"That's right kiddies! I've got something juicy to take back to the boss now. You didn't even notice me sneak into your cell phone in the city huh Pops!? I am the Stand known as Power Station! The perfect viral protection. Now that we have the information we do. Disposing of you will be child's play." They face eventually materialized on the screen as a small demon-like creature with multiple 1s and 0s across its body. A pitchfork that was shaped like USB-port labels and an entirely static being.

Jotaro stepped forward and pointed at the screen, "What a pain in the ass. Another stand like this. I know exactly how to deal with you. You're usually long-ranged remote stands and your user can sit back calmly while you operate but I know exactly how to trap you. Everyone throw away your phones and step back. Star Platinum!" Everyone quickly followed his orders and distanced the phones as much as they could and Jotaro smashed the charger connecting the phone to the wall. "Now you're trapped in here with us. You have no outlet and judging by Noboru's injury, you're nowhere near as strong as Red Hot Chili Pepper."

Power Station laughed ominously from the screen and paced back and forth, holding their precious files in a locked folder. "You think you got it all figured out huh? I don't know what Stand you faced like me. But I'm far from that easy. It's only a matter of…" Suddenly from across the room, Kiba's phone flickered from receiving a text message, "Time!"

Before anyone could make a move, there was a very thin, transparent static wave connecting the laptop to the cell phone. Then the ominous laughter continued from Kiba's phone laying on the floor.

"Oh, that's so not fucking cool…" Kiba commented as he peaked over to see the demonic face chuckling on the screen of his phone.

Johanne's front door opened soon after as Edward walked in the door with his phone in hand, everyone tried to make a move for Kiba's phone as the laughing got much longer and echoed towards Edward's device. Another unsuspecting loud scream echoed throughout the home.


	23. Chapter 23: Devious Devices

**Honestly, I've more than acknowledged all these long times between chapters and I apologize once again. This one has been ready for quite some time actually, I just haven't had the opportunity to drop it. I hope you all still enjoy it, sharing it around where you can, and thank you for supporting me. I'm doing my best and with your support, I can be pushed to push these chapters out faster and harder then we can move on to more stories! Thank you for reading!**

Continuing where our ragtag group of rowdy crusaders left off. A deadly out of reach enemy has threatened the sanctuary and safety of our group. After a short assault on Johanne's father, the attention is quickly changed to the danger of letting this Stand go. A Stand able to travel through technology at will, redirect the flow of electricity, and even manipulate data within its system has shocked our troupe and even more so when Edward is attacked upon his arrival.

Edward's body convulsed and twitched on the ground for a moment before taking a second to compose himself and panted heavily, "What the hell was that…? I've got the worst bloody headache…"

"Edward! Watch out! Get away from your phone!" Johanne dashed to the door in a panic, hand reaching out to his companion.

As still in shock as he was, Edward shuffled against the ground for the time and pushed the phone away only to be greeted by some maniacal laughter.

"Thanks for the bridge fool! Oh? Would you look at that!? I'm picking up another wave!" As everyone gathered to the door, the blue electricity started to collect around the phone again and flash away.

Everyone's eyes turned to see a bicyclist with a large pair of headphones on whistling away and the blue static resonating from his pocket.

"Ah, shit! We have to get him before he gets too far! Hey! Stop the bike dude!" Kiba called out to the man to no avail as he couldn't hear a thing and started his tread away. "Damnit! Freakin' deaf man!"

"Don't worry guys! I've got this!" Avelessi proudly announced to the group. He grabbed a large handful of extra sugar-coated gummies and piled his mouth. After a big gulp, his breath resonated and his body crackled with the ring of his hamon.

"His hamon sugar rush armor…! Perfect! Once again a useful technique!" Johanne cheered on the young lad as he got into a crouched position. Zooming down the street in a flash dashing up to the back wheel of the bike. As soon as he got close enough, Avelessi reached out to tug onto the man's shirt but his body fluctuated too much from his pedaling motions.

The blue static from the pocket of the cyclist started to surge and the head of the Stand popped out with a snicker, "You think that'll work!? Guess I'll turn up the jams!" Power Station returned to the device and began to make it clicker brightly, skimming through lines and history within the device and finally stopped on a song.

"Oh, man! This is my hype song right here! Time to double time!" The man did a jerking motion on the bike to readjust himself just as Avelessi was about to grab him causing him to slip, miss, and tumble forward. Next thing he knew, His faux scarf got tangled into spokes of the wheel as he was falling to the ground and the bike picked up speed. Avelessi frantically flailed as he was dragged down the street by the hyper pedaling cyclist.

Johanne and Kiba's faces sagged in disbelief as they listened to Avelessi scream, "OHMYGODSOMEONESTOPHIMTHISTHINGISTOOEXPENSIVE! OUCH OUCH OUCH! AHHHHH! DEARLORDITSDRAGGINGMEAWAYHEEEEELP!"

Everyone watched in shock and disappointment as Avelessi panicked and flailed on the ground behind the man as he seemed to have taken off at high speeds.

"Okay cool so we fuckin' lost the guy and now we lost Avelessi. Great."

Johanne commented thoroughly planting his face in his hand as the corner of his eye peaked at a brown car turning the street away from the very quickly in the same direction. "Son of a bitch… There he goes! He was watching us from up the street!"

"How can you be so sure? It might have been a resident." Kohana chimed in as she kept an eye down the street.

"Nah that car ain't from around here. I've been living here for too long. No one books it like that unless they've got some dirt going on. We need to catch them!"

"Shut the hell up and hop on already!" A loud revving of a motorcycle engine could be heard from Jesse as he commented. Johanne and Kiba took a glance at one another with a shrug. Kiba grabbed Yume, placing a helmet on her head and popping in the sidecar with her while Johanne rode behind Jesse.

The group rode down the street chasing after Avelessi as fast as they could, "The guy made it off but our priority is catching up and recovering Avelessi. Maybe the dude on the bike will get tired at some point."

Jesse's eyes narrowed to the ground after a few blocks, noticing there was a trail of candy being left on the ground. Revving his motorcycle and following the trail up until they reached the main streets of Upper Bodou.

All of a sudden Jesse's radio starts to static very loudly and broadcasted a loud hiss which made everyone scream momentarily but stopped to a very familiar voice.

"Available Officers, we have a suspect in pursuit. A young man, American, riding a motorcycle. The suspect is potentially armed and dangerous. Over."

The broadcast shocked everyone as Jesse was brought to a screeching halt before the trail started to lead into another main street. "Son of a bitch… did he just hack the damn police radios? Fuckin' kidding me. Alright, get off."

Johanne leaned over Jesse's shoulder knowing full well his suggestion, "Get off? You can't be serious, man."

"Look! You guys have a lot better chance at tracking and stopping this guy. There's a plaza up the street, right? He couldn't have gotten far and I can't exactly punch the shit out of this thing. Now let me buy some fuckin' time!"

Yume and Kiba looked at one another curiously and nodded their heads, saying simultaneously, "So angry…"

Johanne hopped off the bike without question despite the inner turmoil and was soon followed by the other bunch. Jesse turned his head to the sound of police sirens and quickly dawned a skull helmet from the side pouch, "Alright fuckers! Come get some!" Turning down the opposite street, Jesse taunted the oncoming officers whilst doing a wheelie as he rode off into the streets.

Our parting group of three cut through a couple of alleys near the main street to finally reach the plaza.

"Knowing all the escape routes and bike trails that lead to this plaza… He should be around. There!?" Everyone stopped to see tattered pieces of Avelessi's scarf trailing off to the side and hanging off a bush.

Rushing over to the scene they all hopped in to see the bicycle rider fried close to a crisp and Avelessi laying over the brush next to the man.

"Heavens, did anyone get the license of that bike? I think he hit my poodle…" As nonsensical as he was, Avelessi made it out with a large series of scuffs, cuts, and bruises from the ride.

Johanne needed down and picked their battered companion off the ground and shook him slightly, "Hey! Do you know where the stand went? He's almost back with the user!"

As weak as he was from the damage he sustained Avelessi pointed to a group of men that were being addressed by an officer. "H-he took the opportunity to blindside us… and hijack the cop… he knows we can't exactly attack him. So he's biding his time… he hasn't moved."

"You did great man. Rest here for now. Let me take care of this." Johanne praised his friend, reaching into his sack attached to his side and pulling out one of the Hamon-infused lollipops, placing it into his mouth so he can recover from his little trip.

After leaving their friend be, the remaining three gathered together and analyzed the situation they'd been in and watched the officer pull the radio up and speak into it. "We need to find a way to get that away from him. Make sure he doesn't get a free pass away. I can still see the colored static around his hand."

Kiba stood back for a moment to think about the surrounding area, all the people around the plaza, and how many guards there were. "Alright. Bare with me for a second. This is gonna be good." Strolling over to the cop and adjusting his jacket some, Kiba took a couple of deep breaths and raised a thumbs up over his shoulder.

"What's Kiba gonna do? Is he gonna get hurt Uncle Johanne?" Yume asked in a sort of concerned tone while clinging to Johanne's arm tightly.

"Ehhh knowing my buddy there. He might not get hurt. But, He's probably going to do something stupid yet very effective. Let's watch shall we little one?" Johanne kneeled down to pat her head and watched closely.

Back to the officer who finally finished lecturing the thugs, "You know damn well not to be fighting in my streets. We're in a state of dismay! We have hooligans running around vandalizing and terrorizing our city. Stay the hell out of trouble, do I make myself clear!?" As all of them give disgruntled responses of understanding.

"AHHHH! MY CHEST! GAAAAHHH! HEART ATTACK!" Kiba screamed from behind the back of the police officer until he rammed into him holding his chest and flailing around.

The police officer much to his surprise was knocked around but caught his balance, immediately moving to hold Kiba, "Young man! Are you alright!? Can you stop moving please!"

Kiba's act was working seamlessly and to Johanne's great disgust, a long sigh escaped his lips. "Fuckin' kidding me if this works…"

"Ah! Kiba doesn't look okay! We should help him!" Yume was also indicating great concern for his acting, which only dug him deeper into the shame well.

"Don't you worry your little head. Kiba is doing just fine. He doesn't need our help. Not yet anyway…" Johanne stood up with his arms folded, trying to remotely fathom the tomfoolery before him.

"Sir, please! I can't breathe! You got to help me! Oh shit, it's going dark! Where am I!? GAAAAH!" Kiba continued flailing around within the grasp of the cop, while his right arm held his chest, the left arm was unhooking the radio from his belt.

Out of the edge of Kiba's eye, he noticed something about the thugs that were getting scolded, 'Ah! Poko and Rama! Perfect, the guys are here. They just have to not be idiots for five seconds.' While Kiba was being frantically questioned by the police officer, He was giving very noticeable nods to the radio with his head.

The two of them stood there slightly baffled at the display as Poko spoke up, "You know Rama. I was going to make fun of the guy. But I think that's the Boss. I don't got my glasses with me today"

Upon further squinting and rubbing his facial hair, Rama nodded slowly, "You know Poko. You damn sure are right. The boss is havin' some kinda stroke or somethin' we should do something! He keeps twitching his head over there!"

Kiba's inner voice was furiously banging and screaming against the confines of his mind as his physical state was grasping the cop, "Fuckin' morons! Grab the-"

"Excuse me, officer, I happened to notice you dropped this." Another man comes along scratching at his neck and twitching. The man rocked shaggy gray hair and was dressed in some rather dingy clothing, some bell-bottom pants, and scuffed green loafers with a black long sleeve shirt filled with holes, arms layered in scars that looked like they came from fingernails.

The man looked very tired but oddly aware, that made Kiba horribly discomforted also a cryptic chill if you will from the man's very presence as he walked away and caught the eye of the boy.

"Ah, I must have dropped this while helping this young man. Now I can call for an ambulance." The officer placed the receiver to his lips and as he was about to speak into it, a large surge of electricity ran through his body and he collapsed.

Kiba rolled away, horrified at how quickly the officer was subdued. Poko walked over and kneeled next to the cop. "Hey, Boss! I knew it had to be you. I got the guys on the line, they're on their way to rush you to the E.R in Benkei's truck!" Poko happily raised the phone up to Kiba's surprise, the electricity surged out of the radio and into Poko's cell phone.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me… That's it. I've had enough of this shit." Kiba shoved the police officer's slumped body away and turned to Yume and Johanne, motioning her over.

Johanne as confused as he was, Yume didn't hesitate for a moment to run to his side without question. This left young Kamijou in a rather awkward stupor. After that, Kiba moved his hands around as if signaling to his long time friend.

Their eyes snapped to an instant connection, knowing what that signal meant. They would always use a small wave of fingers when the other was telling them to watch around for cops or teachers but this time was much more vital. Johanne nodded quickly in response, calling his Stand's sharp eyes out.

Kiba kneeled to Yume and gave her a bright smile to show he was alright, "Had you worried there didn't I? I was just playing a game. Fun day so far isn't it dear? You've been a good girl." Kiba placed his hand over her head and praised her which was quickly responded with a loud giggle.

Watching from a good distance away, he saw something that perked his eyes incredibly, "Kiba you madman… I finally get to see this huh?" Johanne witnessed the praise Kiba was giving her was making her ecstatic, overjoyed and this caused a reaction of a very visible small creature hanging over her back with angel wings fluttering from it. It was almost like a small cartoon character, an angel over your shoulder but mechanical, slightly distorted and tattooed, and wrapped in a veil. "Blind Guardian… Just like He told us about that day."

Kiba reached out from stroking her long beautiful hair, some of the feathers from Blind Guardian's wings got tangled in her strands. Reaching for some of the feathers and planting a soft kiss on her head, Kiba took the feather, calling his Stand out, "Evanescence." After calling its name, he crushed the feather and tossed it over his Stand.

After a brief moment of being engulfed in blinding light, Kiba's stand assumed the same transformation as before. "Calling on me again Master. It must be that desperate." The being emerged once again, standing close behind Kiba and raking its fingers through its extremely long mane.

"We have the same thoughts. I'm running out of options and I know what you're capable of." Kiba took his position beside his Stand, almost back to back as they both reached out an arm and curled their fingers to snap.

"Say the word. On your command." Evanescence was prepared, grinning past the toothpick in its mouth. Kiba was just as confident.

On the screen of Poko's phone, Power Station pushed against it with a very nervous jittery, "W-w-w-w-what the hell is that!? What is that bastard so full of himself!? He can't touch me! I'm data right now! Nothing but data riding the waves. I'll be gone before they know it."

"Every bit of technology within the confines of this plaza but those within 8 meters of us. Gone." His stand snapped immediately in response to the order, it was like a gentle breeze swept the area as a greater storm of confusion arose.

"What the hell was that!? Where did my MP3 Player go!?" One larger man shrieked from the side, baffled.

"I just bought a brand new model of my phone! Are you kidding me!" A very displeased woman soon followed.

"Gaaaah! What happened to that car!? Everything just up and disappeared! ALIENS! I KNEW IT!" Kiba pressed his palm against his forehead with a long sigh. This time it was Avelessi freaking out from the bushes.

"Everything within the bounds of your command has now and shall be 'Fictional'. You've used the reserves of my power up to its limit. This is farewell for now." The layer of light shattered away from Evanescence's being and faded away slowly with its figure. Kiba's body collapsed backward with a long exasperated sigh.

Johanne quickly rejoined the group, kneeling beside Kiba to hold him up with a very giddy fit of cheer, "Holy shit man! You weren't kidding about that. It was like a completely different Stand. It was talking too!"

"Heh yeah, yeah. The sad part is, it takes so much energy out of Yume and I because she can't control it fully. So, I can only use it once at a time before I slump for a while. The rest is up to you bud." Kiba bumped his fist to Johanne's chest and sat upon the ground.

With a swift nod, there was nowhere left for Power Station to escape, as far as Johanne's understanding was, as he came up to the phone that was now on the ground in the ruckus and picking it up, "Well, well. I guess we can see who's got the last laugh now."

Power Station reformed its body out of a file in the phone and growled at the screen while it faced Johanne, "Hah! You think you've won. I'll get back to the boss with no problem. One good shock and someone will come by eventually! Or hey, your buddies are knocked out. I could just call my user over after you're knocked too and end you! The boss will be so happy, we'll be promoted to the Six once you're dead! It'll be glorious! Hahaha!"

Johanne was as unimpressed as ever and started to tap his finger along his jawline in deep thought, "You know, I can't exactly mess you up inside there with normal means. But there just might be…" He muttered sitting next to Kiba on the ground while fidgeting within the confines of the phone.

"What do you think you're doing? Stop messing with this thing! Why are you deleting everything!?" Power Station's options were slowly getting cut off by Johanne's tampering in the device while he hummed very calmly to himself, a wide grin began to sprawl across his lips.

"Hey, hey, hey! Kiba dude. You won't believe what your goon has on his phone man! You'll never believe this." Johanne leaned over opening a few hidden folders after finishing his search.

Kiba almost jumped out of his skin in excitement as he tried to take the phone, "No way! No way you think it'll work? I know what you're thinkin' you crafty bastard!"

"W-wait… You can't be serious right? Look! I was just kidding! You don't have to do this! I have nowhere else to go! I'm sorry!" At this point, Power Station was begging for dear life as an old, rhythmic video game theme started to play in the background.

Both Kiba and Johanne high fived one another, in unison screaming out, "Ultra Street Fighter 2!" After immediately making their way through the menus, their suspicions were confirmed. "It seems as long as you don't have another active file or network to travel through to. You can only exist in what's present. Especially after I've shut the phone into airplane mode it seems. You hadn't even tried to go to mine." Johanne commented with a snide venom in his words as he dangled his phone.

"Shall we begin then? I'm getting pretty restless here man." Kiba cheered on as he pointed to the unpause button. His companion graciously agreed as He'd selected his favorite character Zangief and proceeded to unleash a relentless flurry of Russian madness on the Stand. The game read Power Station as data within the game so it was purely at the mercy of the boys.

After several perfect victories, Johanne passed the phone over to Kiba who giggled heavily under his breath and scrolled over to Violent Ken, unleashing several rounds of endless hell upon Power Station as blood-curdling screams of pain left the phone.

It took around 10 minutes before another scream could be heard coming from behind the boys. As they turned around to where Avelessi sat, a man limped out of the bushes covered in bruises and blood. "P-please! I surrender! I can't hold my voice any longer. Just let me go…"

The boys looked at one another and nodded swiftly. Getting up from the ground with the phone dangling from his fingertips. The man was cowering in fear as he dropped to his knees coughing blood and teeth. "Well, well. So the cowardly Stand user shows himself. I'm sure you know where this could go next."

"P-please man. I was all talk and shit man. Please don't hurt me no more." Upon getting a good look at him. This guy seemed like your typical Caucasian back alley conman, someone you'd slide a few bucks for a cheap job. Bald as ever, dressed in baggy, tattered sweat jacket and pants with a patchy wool cap and roughly repaired glasses. Fingerless gloves and heavy work boots. This man was trying his hardest to beg his way out of the situation.

Kneeling in front of him were both of the boys, wide grins painted across their lips and grabbing him by the shirt and making him stare them down.

Johanne spoke clearly, "I want you to understand something. We could beat you black and blue, and run you out of this town. I can tell you're nothing but a spy. A snake. So you're going to be our snake. That agent you caught, you'll look after him and report that you found nothing. You'll return those files and we'll only leave you as messed up as you are now."

"Y-you mean it…? I saw that vanishing shit. It's almost as scary as the Boss's ability… I can't deal with this man. I'll do whatever ya want. Just leave me how I am…" He was shivering like a striped dog in the winter. It was almost worth pitying. Almost.

"Well, about that." Before he could blink their newly founded informant was barraged with a hyper flurry of fists that shifted his jaw and swelled his eye, sending him into the tree next to Avelessi making him jump, "Now that's how I'll send you back. As a reminder. You attacked my father. I don't appreciate that man."

Johanne tossed the phone at the barely conscious man's feet and went over to collect the rest of his companions. He handed his phone over to Kiba, letting him know to get Jesse sorted out and stopping him from running from the cops and joining the rest back home.

Meanwhile within the crowd of the Plaza…

"Hey, Boss… Hehe… I saw them in action for myself. I can see why we were all called. We're definitely going to need all of the crew… Hehe… I have my heart set on someone special… If you'll please." This was a very familiar voice over the phone. Someone managed to keep a sharp enough earshot distance to escape the attack.

"You don't say… I have everyone in the office. Right now. We're going to be wrapping this problem up soon. I don't appreciate making a fool of myself in front of these commoners. This city is my playground, and I refuse to have these… imperfections and filth on my property. Can we make this happen?" The Boss himself, Akuma Ishita, addressed direction while turning to see both Jon Bovi and his companion Matt Booker and behind them were three more individuals. Silhouettes of a smaller, petite looking woman standing rather close to a very slender man with a ponytail and another man with a rather large afro.

Jon stepped forward with a loud yawn followed with a perked laughter, "Without flaw Sir, you know this. We came here to please. Ain't that right team? I think we have plenty of our disposable pawns"

Everyone in the room, a very large mixture of energies took to unison in speaking, "Yes Boss!" Which pleased Akuma greatly, He hung up the phone and took a long drag of a cigarette between his fingers. Awaiting the plans that came from this group of Elites.


End file.
